Tuesday, May 30, 2023 – After struggling to convince Kenyans to buy President William Ruto’s controversial housing scheme, Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga has shifted the blame to Azimio Leader Raila Odinga.
Speaking during an interview yesterday, PS Hinga inadvertently accused Raila of introducing the housing levy in Kenya.
According to Hinga, the proposed housing levy in the Finance Bill 2023 was originally a proposal by Raila in 2012.
Hinga stated that he hosted Raila at his home in South Africa and a discussion about the housing problem in Kenya birthed the idea of a housing levy.
He explained that the ODM leader was concerned and passionate about the plight of Kenyans who were living in the informal settlement and helped him convince other leaders to pass the levy into law.
“I hosted the former Prime Minister way back in 2012 at my home in South Africa, where we discussed the housing problem in Kenya. Raila was very passionate about the plight of Kenyans living in informal settlements.”
“The person that helped me convince Atwoli and Sossion to support the Housing fund in the past regime was the former Prime Minister,” he stated.
Further, he noted that because of Odinga’s support, the levy, which was included in the 2018 Finance Bill, was passed by Parliament.
However, they decided to withdraw it over a protracted court case.
The PS stated that it was shocking to hear Raila and other leaders oppose the bill, yet they had supported it when they were working with the government.
Additionally, he stated that the Azimio leader was on record during campaigns promising that he would re-introduce the levy if elected president, adding that the 2018 bill was to deduct 1.5% from salaried Kenyans.
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