File image of COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli
The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has raised concerns over the potential misuse of the Housing Levy after the Parliament made a raft of regulations.
In a statement on Tuesday, Atwoli warned that the new regulations could potentially introduce a loophole that would allow lawmakers to channel funds into projects that could compromise the affordable housing plan.
“If adopted, these regulations, which are in the possession of COTU (K), will introduce a loophole that could see Members of Parliament channel housing levy funds into projects that fall outside the core mandate of providing decent and affordable housing for Kenyan workers,” said Atwoli.
The COTU boss pointed out that the regulations that were adopted by Parliament but had not yet been ratified by the Attorney General could potentially subject the housing levy to misuse.
According to Atolwi, the regulations will also undermine the initial intention of introducing the levy, to provide decent houses to Kenyan workers.
“Under the Affordable Housing Regulations, housing levy funds may now, erroneously, be used to construct health facilities, pre-primary education centers, basic education centers, fire stations, police posts, social halls, markets, and open spaces, under the guise of ‘associated social infrastructure,” Atwoli stated.
“While these are all important public services, they fall well outside the scope of what Kenyan workers were promised when this levy was introduced.”
Atwoli called for President William Ruto’s intervention, demanding an immediate halt to the process of implementing the regulations.
He further said a fresh participation process should be initiated to redraft the regulations to safeguard the purpose of the Housing Levy.
“We call upon the President to intervene decisively to protect the rights of workers and ensure that the Affordable Housing Fund is used solely and strictly for its intended purpose,” Atwoli remarked.
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