The mandatory housing levy is not only exploitative but a blatant insult to hardworking Kenyans.
How can the government justify deducting employees’ salaries to build houses, only to ask these same citizens to buy those houses at market rates?
This is a clear case of daylight robbery, designed to enrich the elite at the expense of the ordinary Kenyan.
These houses are being constructed on public land, which already belongs to the people. Forcing citizens to pay for what is essentially theirs defies logic.
Worse still, the levy disproportionately burdens low-income earners who are unlikely to afford the homes, effectively turning them into financiers for the wealthy.
If this program were genuinely for the people, why is it mandatory? The lack of transparency and accountability in the management of these funds only deepens public mistrust. It is policies like these that will ensure President Ruto becomes a one-term president.
Adding to this betrayal is the introduction of the State Health Insurance Fund (SHA/SHIF). If the scheme is truly beneficial, why is it being forced on Kenyans? Moreover, what happened to the billions contributed to NHIF?
Before introducing a new scheme, Kenyans deserve a full audit and an explanation of how NHIF funds were managed.
The next government must correct these injustices by:
1. Expunging the Housing Levy Tax and replacing it with a voluntary and transparent system that benefits all Kenyans.
2. Reverting SHA/SHIF to NHIF, while ensuring accountability for past contributions.
3. Grounding its governance on truth, transparency, and service to the people.
Kenyans deserve leadership that prioritizes their welfare, not one that preys on their livelihoods. It is time for truth, and nothing but the truth, to guide this nation forward.
Opinion By Victor Kigen Komen,
CEO Baringo Media-Link
