There has been an angry response in Kenya to a decision by the authorities to introduce a new salary levy to help build low-cost homes.
Kenyans online, especially on Twitter, aired their disapproval on Wednesday after the government yesterday ordered employers to deduct 1.5% from salaries to fund the affordable housing project.
The hashtag #ResistHousingFundLevy is trending since morning.
President Uhuru Kenyatta big four agenda has affordable housing as one of its core pillars.
Some have argued that this is not the way to do it since Kenyans are overtaxed and most of the taxes is lost through corruption, which the president himself is complicit.
The Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) yesterday stated that the move to introduce the levy is against a court order, which suspended its introduction pending a hearing on the FKE’s objection.
The president should tackle corruption first and ensure that public money is not lost even through well-meaning schemes, such as the Kimwaror and Arror dam, School laptops scheme, e.t.c., which turn out to be useless in the end.
Here are some tweets we sampled.
Who told this useless Jubilee government, the low income Kenyans priority is housing, they have more pressing issues like better jobs, health, education, infrastructure, markets, electricity, industrialization, corruption #housinglevy #ResistHousingFundLevy
— The Old Cambrian 🇰🇪 🇪🇹 (@AminOldCambrian) April 16, 2019
The Government's idea of "Affordable Housing" is a bigger version of Gakuyo Real Estate; and the Housing Fund Levy is like Ekeza Sacco.
In the end, there will be no houses; but the billions will be gone.#ResistHousingFundLevy
— Mwalimu Joshua Njenga (@JKNjenga) April 17, 2019
Kenyarra has failed to build good HOUSES FOR THE POLICE and the Brave men who guard this country and for some reason he says he will build houses for Millions of us Kenyan?
And we belive that?#ResistHousingFundLevy
— My Little Rafiki. (@kirigwi) April 17, 2019
Thirdly: "A person who LOOTS 5billion or even more of this housing Levy Fund will be only FINED KSH10,000 or imprisoned for 2years". This is a travesty of the century. The thieves have already set their lenient punishment ahead of looting. Unbelievable!#ResistHousingFundLevy pic.twitter.com/jjgyanxmhl
— Lord Abraham Mutai (@ItsMutai) April 17, 2019
This is day light robbery, Thuggery with impunity! We should fight this in the streets #KenyansUnitedFront, #ResistHousingFundLevy
— quentin thuku (@qthuku) April 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/GakeniaNyakio/status/1118119425528532993
One user suggested a different form of boycott, a creative one.
We need a place to protest #ResistHudumaNamba #ResistHousingFundLevy. If we meet at Uhuru Park, we will be few and easily subdued. But every Sunday, millions of Kenyans meet at churches. So we protest there. There are not enough cops to cover all the churches. #Sadakaboycott
— #LandIsNotProperty Mwalimu Wandia (@wmnjoya) April 17, 2019
