President William Ruto is now facing a serious disagreement between the Central Organisation of Trade Unions–Kenya (COTU-K) and the State Department of Housing over how the housing levy funds are being used.
The conflict is about the government’s plan to use the billions collected from the affordable housing levy to build other social facilities instead of houses.
This has caused tension, with both sides accusing each other of lying to the public.In a statement released on Saturday, June 7, COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli directly called on President Ruto to step in before things get worse.
“We are calling upon His Excellency the President, Dr William Samoei Ruto, to urgently intervene and ensure that the Affordable Housing Levy remains dedicated to delivering decent, dignified and affordable homes for Kenyans,” Atwoli stated.
His concern is that the housing funds are being misused, and workers who have been contributing money might not benefit from the affordable housing plan as promised.
The issue began on Tuesday, June 3, when COTU raised the alarm that the housing levy might be used for other development projects.
According to Atwoli, the government is introducing new rules that would allow the funds to be used for things like building roads, dams, and other projects that are already covered in the National Budget.
He warned that this duplication would lead to waste and would leave Kenyan workers with nothing to show for their contributions.
Atwoli said, “If this trend persists, the affordable housing levy would soon be redirected to other development projects like the building of roads, dams, and other heavy expense projects while leaving workers exposed without decent housing.”
COTU also accused the government of failing to involve them in drafting the new Affordable Housing Regulations, even though Kenyan workers are the main contributors to the levy.
They said they were not consulted and were surprised to see the changes being pushed without their input.
However, on Friday, June 6, Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga dismissed Atwoli’s claims, saying COTU was part of the team that helped draft the housing law.
“It came as a surprise to us, the statement by COTU, because COTU was one of the very few organisations that had the privilege of drafting the Act. They are actually represented in person,” Hinga stated.
He insisted that COTU knew what was going on and had been involved from the beginning.But COTU quickly rejected Hinga’s remarks, saying their representative on the Affordable Housing Fund Board does not have the power to speak or make decisions for the union.
They demanded that PS Hinga provide proof such as official meeting minutes, letters, or any record showing that COTU’s Executive Board agreed to the new rules.
The proposed regulations show that the housing levy might be used to build not just houses but also health centres, nursery schools, basic education centres, fire stations, police posts, markets, social halls, and open spaces.
COTU is worried that this shift in focus could harm the original goal of the program, which was to give Kenyan workers affordable homes.
Now the matter is in the hands of President Ruto, who is being asked to make sure the money collected from workers goes directly to building the homes they were promised.
