Housing levy a graft scheme in the making

The UhuRuto administration is at it again. Beginning May, employed Kenyans will part with 1.5 per cent more of their monthly income to fund the Housing Fund Levy, ostensibly designed to provide 500,000 units of “affordable housing” to Kenyan families (with matching contributions from employers). The levy is projected to raise over Sh50 billion every year.

Kenyans are skeptical. For two main reasons. First, the Kenyatta administration has never fully explained how the scheme will work. How will we determine deserving households? How exactly will the funds translate into actual affordable houses built? These are important questions that must be answered before the country hands over tens of billions of shillings each year to a government known not for any tangible achievements.