Tax breaks, provision of affordable land and enabling the private sector
to do most of these projects could be one way to ease the cost of
housing. FILE PHOTO | NMG
The idea behind setting up a cheap housing fund was to cover as
many poor Kenyan households as
possible without the heavy burden that comes with buying land and setting up support infrastructure.
possible without the heavy burden that comes with buying land and setting up support infrastructure.
However,
the shooting down by Parliament of Treasury’s proposal that would have
seen workers part with as much as Sh5,000 for high earners sends the
Treasury back to the drawing board on the proposal.
The
Federation of Kenya Employers and trade unions, while supporting
establishment of a cheap housing fund, had initially raised concerns on
the amount of money to be deducted from workers noting that whereas 1.5
per cent could appear small, in real terms it is a hit on over-burdened
workers’ take home.
Affordable housing forms part of
Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda. For this to be achieved, policy makers
must think beyond the easy option of deducting the little that many
workers take home. Tax breaks, provision of affordable land and enabling
the private sector to do most of these projects could be one way to
ease the cost of housing.
Kenya needs a plan that will
provide a roof over Wanjiku at the least cost and in a transparent,
well-structured plan if the President’s envisaged legacy is to see the
light of day.
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