Former Kiambu governor William Kabogo has requested the state to suspend the contested housing levy.
On Tuesday the Jubilee government announced that at the end of April, all employees will be forced to “contribute” 1.5 percent of their monthly salary to the proposed National Housing Fund.
According to the corruption tracker, the government has lost more than sh 6.7 trillion since 2013 and now Kenyans believe that the intended deduction won’t be accounted for.
Speaking Kabogo states that the government should first listen to people opinion before the implementation.
“Kenyans have really cried over the deduction and Uhuru through his administration should listen, not that Kenyans oppose the idea but they fear that the money might be stolen,” Kabogo said.
He advises that the housing project can also be funded through money recovered from corrupt individuals.
“The money recovered from corrupt cartels can be used to fund the projects, few corrupt individuals have taken the country into hostage,” he said.
His sentiments were encored by ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi who also hold similar views.
In a tweet, Mudavadi urged the state to dedicate recovered assets in building affordable housing to fulfill President Uhuru Kenyatta’s agenda.
“An ill conceived approach to a noble cause at this point in time. The gov’t should dedicate recovered proceeds from corruption in providing housing for the poor,” Musalia said.
He noted that the government should stop burdening the common Mwananchi with more taxes since the latter was already paying too much.
Also, Embakasi East MP has termed the deduction as oppressive requesting Uhuru to reconsider the move.
“The deduction isn’t only criminal but very oppressive,”Babu said.