Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba Exposes Housing Levy Scandal

Kiambu Woman Representative Hon. Gathoni Wamuchomba has criticized the misuse of funds under the Affordable Housing Program, highlighting alarming discrepancies in the allocation and expenditure of the 2023/2024 housing levy.

According to Wamuchomba, Parliament approved Ksh 48.47 billion for the program, with the expectation of constructing 32,313 housing units.

However, only Ksh 7.332 billion was utilized, resulting in the completion of just 4,888 units as reported by the President during the State of the Nation Address. This left a staggering Ksh 41.1 billion unaccounted for, raising questions about transparency and efficiency.

”The 2023/4 estimates allocated Kes 63,220,000,000 which was estimated 1.5% deduction on our salaries.We only spent 48,470,000,000. This is what was Authorized and approved by parliament.Assuming every house costs Ksh 1.5M to construct then it means Parliament authorized and approved 32,313 units costing 48,470,000,000 to be completed by 1st July 2023. In my opinion this is unrealistic!” the Githunguri MP said in a statement.

She further condemned the mandatory 1.5% housing levy imposed on Kenyans’ payslips, terming it exploitative and unconstitutional. She argued that deducting Ksh 48.47 billion when only Ksh 7.332 billion was needed overburdened taxpayers and violated fiscal accountability principles.

”Constitutionally, revenues must be equal to expenditure in a financial year ,so it was Erroneous to deduct Kenyans 48.47Billion and you only needed 7.332 Billion. So Kenyans should demand an explanation of the 41.138 Billion they were over Taxed in 2023/4 financial year,” Wamuchomba added.

The legislator called on Kenyans to demand an explanation for the unspent funds and reaffirmed her opposition to the housing levy. She vowed to scrutinize the 2024/2025 budget for similar irregularities, urging citizens to join the #OkoaPayslipKE movement to safeguard their earnings and hold the government accountable.