The Mt Kenya Times 
Azimio La Umoja leader Raila Odinga
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Many governments across the world have built houses for their citizens. These efforts heralded in economic take off
- I would expect other opposition leaders to follow Raila’s footsteps. This debate should now come to an end.
- Ruto added: My government is using its model to build these houses. If Raila won the elections, he could have used his plan.
- It is worth noting that the affordable housing plan was one of the key highlights of Raila’s Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition manifesto. Azimio’s plan was to raise fund from salaried Kenyan workers by deducting 1.5 percent from each payslip. The employers would part with the same amount for each employee.
Sometimes back I wrote in this column an opinion piece titled “Raila should be the last person to fault President Ruto’s affordable housing plan’.
This has come to pass. Raila made a drastic U-Turn a few days ago when he stated.
I have no problem with President William Ruto’s plan to build affordable houses for Kenyans. This is because I’m the one who initiated the noble project during the reign of the grand coalition government.
I initiated and sold the idea to President Mwai Kibaki who embraced it fully.
I however disagree with the way Mr Ruto is implementing this project. He is rushing it and forcing it through the throats of Kenyans, he alleged.
Raila added: President Ruto should have first convened a national conference and listen to the views of Kenyan people.
Here, Raila was just playing his usual politics.
We know that Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza government had followed all the legal steps to the letter and spirit.
In his reaction, President Ruto welcomed Raila’s gesture. Raila has concurred that I’m doing the right thing of building houses for the hustlers and creating tens of thousands of jobs for them.
Many governments across the world have built houses for their citizens. These efforts heralded in economic take off
I would expect other opposition leaders to follow Raila’s footsteps. This debate should now come to an end.
Ruto added: My government is using its model to build these houses. If Raila won the elections, he could have used his plan.
It is worth noting that the affordable housing plan was one of the key highlights of Raila’s Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition manifesto. Azimio’s plan was to raise fund from salaried Kenyan workers by deducting 1.5 percent from each payslip. The employers would part with the same amount for each employee.
Dr Ruto’s administration is deducting the same amount.
I, therefore, concurs with Ruto for seemingly giving little attention to Raila’s call for a national conference.
In my earlier opinion piece, I had observed.
Just like his predecessors, President William Ruto is leaving nothing to chance in building and unveiling his legacy projects.
There is no doubt that the affordable housing plan is his signature legacy project.
Kenya Kwanza suffered a blow a few days ago when the Court of Appeal suspended the collection of the housing levy until appeal is heard and determined.
The president did not take this matter lightly.
This is the work of my political opponents. They are hellbent on sabotaging and derailing my development agenda.
The corrupt judicial officers were helping them to have thier way after bribing and compromising them.
Their machinations are bound to fail because we will not obey these orders.
A few days later, the President held a meeting with Chief Justice Martha Koome and Speaker of national assembly Moses Wetangula. The Speaker joined them later.
Sources indicated that the President took unprecedented move when he declassified some intelligence reports which he shared with CJ. He disclosed that corrupt judges were working hand in hand with corrupt and rogue lawyers.
As the CJ, the buck stops with you. The people of Kenya expects you to tame members of your team. The corrupt riddled judges must be shown the door.
On his part, the President assured the CJ of his commitment to eradicate corruption in the executive.
The three-judge bench of Court of Appeal had earlier ruled in favor of an application filed by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndungu.
The bench had upheld the High Court order allowing the government to continue collecting the housing levy until an appeal is heard and determined.
The matter is still pending in court. So, the change of heart by the bench was bound to raise queries. Was the decision based on law or it was an escalation of the ongoing war. What has changed?
It is worth noting that when the two bulls fight, it is the grass that suffers. So, in this case, it is the people of Kenya.
For Senator Okiya Omtata, the petitioner, the earlier decision of the court of appeal was yet another setback for him and other activists who had moved to court seeking to stop the government from collecting the housing levy. This is until their case is heard and determined.
The petitioners’ key prayers was. The court should declare the levy unconstitutional and illegal.
They would not however convince the judges that they had a strong and watertight case. This is because the case was not anchored on the provisions of the constitution and other written laws of Kenya that were relevant and well grounded.
I had earlier listened to President William Ruto’s interview when he hosted journalists from different media houses at State House Nairobi. The President minced no word in responding to all the issues and questions raised.
One of the journalist told him. You rode to power on a platform of promising to respect and uphold the constitution and other laws of the land but today you are doing the opposite.
He cited the housing levy. The court declared this law unconstitutional but we have been hearing you maintaining that the levy is there to stay.
The President told him. What you are saying is not true. I have been walking the talk in terms of respecting the constitution and decisions of the courts.
On housing levy, you the people of the media are to blame for misinterpreting that ruling. The problem of unconstitutional was indeed created by you.
That is not what the bench of the three judges stated. The bench only took issue with what they termed as discriminative aspects of the law.
This is because it is only employed people whose salaries were being subjected to a deduction of 1.5 percent.
The Judges heard our prayers and allowed the government to continue collecting the levy until January next year. This will give you an opportunity to review and align this law. You would not have expected the judges to do this if the housing levy is unconstitutional.
It is worth noting the housing levy is a key pillar of the Finance Act of 2023.
When the judges delivered the ruling, President William Ruto stated. We believe in the rule of law. So, my government will fully comply with the orders issued.
We will take the necessary steps to ensure this law is aligned. Dr Ruto reiterated this during interview. He said that the majority leader Kimani Ichungwah have already drafted the bill and presented it to parliament.
The president further stated. The housing plan is a noble idea whose time has come. As I speak, It has created 120,000 jobs. The job opportunities are set to increase to 200,000 and 500,000 in coming days.
The mega project resonated very well with Ruto’s concept of bottom up economic model. It is designed to address two main challenges: joblessness and lack of decent houses.
The President announced that 250,000 affordable housing units will be constructed in the first phase.
Recently, the President reiterated that the housing project is being opposed by those employed who received a payslip every month.
They do not want 1.5 per cent to be deducted from thier salaries.
The same case applies to the top leaders of the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Opposition coalition.
Each one pockets a pension of more than 1 million from the National Treasury every month.
These are the same personalities who say they love you and were ready to die for you. Really, do they?
When they oppose a deduction of 1.5 percent from thier payslips, what message are they sending?
They don’t care. They want you to continue being poor and to live in a state of desperation and hopelessness.
We had excluded the ‘Hustlers’ (those without a payslip) excluded from paying the housing levy. The court now say this is discriminative.
When selling the units, the state will give priority to the hustlers.
President Ruto have been reiterating. This will be a key milestone. For the first time in our history, the sons and daughters of the hustlers will own decent houses.
This will elevate them to the class of the wealthier and rich families.
Listen to the critics. President Ruto’s position is that the deductions are compulsory. He is therefore pushing the levy down the throat of Kenyans.
I totally disagree. The president had no legal mandate to pass this proposal into law. This power is exercised by parliament.
For starters, the government is made up of three main arms: parliament, executive and Judiciary.
Though each is independent, the law requires them to always embrace the principle of interdependence and complementarity.
Majorly, the role of a member of Parliament is three pronged: Legislation, oversight and representation.
The President was in fore front of drumming support for Finance Bill 2023. Does this amount to overstepping his legal mandate? No, he is not.
During the campaigns, the house plan proposal stood out as Raila’s Azimio main election pledges.
If elected President, I will rollout a massive affordable housing plan. Majority of our people, who migrated to urban centers, were living in poor and highly deplorable conditions in slums. ‘My government’ will build decent houses for them. This is a commitment I have given to you.
Raila would add: A huge chunk of money to build these houses will come from our pockets. He would single out those employed, civil servants, state officers and other workers. The Government will deduct 1.5 per cent from the payslip of each. President Ruto’s administration is collecting the same amount.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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