There were a number of issues raised concerning the 3% proposed deduction, housing fund Finance Bill 2023, during a press conference held on May 22, at Sarova Stanley Hotel in Nairobi by Okoa Uchumi! Campaign.
The bill is one of the hottest discussions in the country, following the continuous increase of tax on Kenyans.
Samuel Olando an executive director at Pamoja Trust, during the event, raised a number of red flags.
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“First, let us assume that we have agreed to contribute Ksh5,000 as the maximum. For you to get a Ksh3 million house you need 50 years. So most of those who contribute would be dead and my children would be chasing the file so that they would be refunded the house,” says Samuel.
“Secondly, what if Diana says that I have got Ksh3 million and want to pay at once? Why are we not allowing her in the bill, to pay at once and get the house before she dies at 50? Why must we give her 50 years to contribute and get a house? That is another red flag,” Samuel continues to argue.
Thirdly, the executive director at Pamoja Trust said: “We are arguing that 71 percent of our population live in formality. And we are saying that for those who live in formality, we should bring them through affirmative action, by saying that we create a housing fund. But in creating this, we forget that we are targeting those who were formally employed. So if you are informal and you want to access housing and you were not formally employed. How would you access it if the person who is contributing is a person who is in the formal sector? And that is another paradox.”
The last bit as argued by Samuel is that not all people want to own a house in Nairobi. Therefore, some just want to rent and when they grow age, they retire to the village.
