Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance Presidential Candidate Raila Odinga has announced that his administration, if elected, will introduce the elusive housing levy to address the housing shortage in the country.
Raila noted that the administration of President Uhuru Kenyatta had tried to introduce the levy but it met stiff opposition from other stakeholders.
The levy, he says, was to tax the employee and employer both contributing 1.5 percent each towards the levy.
Raila explains such a fund will then be ploughed into the development of massive housing units across the country.
He announced that he has engaged the Central Organization of Trade Union (COTU) that was against the introduction of such levy and they are now softening their stand.
He says his administration, if elected, will roll out massive housing development in the country to address the gaps currently witnessed in the country.
Speaking on Tuesday in Kisumu during the ground breaking of Makasembo Estate where LAPFUND is set to construct modern houses, Raila says such steps are in the right direction and will fix the housing shortage in the country.
He further called upon the government to respond to the housing needs of its citizens.
He says a number of Kenyans who migrate from the rural to urban areas are living in abject poverty within the slums areas.
He says the rate at which informal settlements are growing up in the country is alarming, thus the need by the government to reverse the trend and put up low cost houses.
Raila says that in the Capital City of Nairobi, 60 percent of the population live in slum areas.
He says the trend is taking shape in other towns where shanties are being used as houses as a result of people moving to urban areas in search of jobs.
Raila noted that it is the duty of the government to respond to the housing needs and come up with proper plan development.
He says amenities like schools, health facilities, recreational and leisure facilities must be included into the plan.
