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Employers are heading for further talks with senior state officials at a meeting that is expected to decide the fate of the government's affordable housing plan.
FKE) rejected the Treasury's proposal, which requires that its members deduct 0.5 percent of the monthly salary of employees (up to a maximum of 5,000 shillings a month) and that they do competition to the National Housing Development Fund.
plans to apply the proposed contributions of January 1 to the 2018 Finance Bill, which is subject to the approval of the National Assembly.
Jacqueline Mugo, executive director of the FKE, said that the employers' organization was invited and urban development following their public opposition to the fund on June 21.
The employers, she said, will look for answers on the fund's governance structure, its imple- mentation and how companies with housing plans for their employees will be treated. "I think the truth is that it's just an extra tax.The government wants money quickly in a chat, but there is a limit to what citizens and businesses can be taxed" , said Ms. Mugo in an interview in Nairobi
"We are not opposed to the project of building affordable homes." This is how the government wants to do it, which is our problem. , 5 percent of the monthly salary) is a lot of money for an individual employee and yet he may not reach the desired end (owning a home). "
The creation of a housing fund is provided by the Housing Act
The Housing Department said in April that it was working on regulations to operationalize the fund.
Ms. Mugo maintained that employers had not been consulted and that new statutory contributions would likely pile up costs for business and hurt growth.
"In implementing this plan, you must also take into account that there are employers who already have housing arrangements." Some pay family allowances and others house their homes. What is happening to those people, and are they still paying? "
The ministry plans to build at least 500,000 affordable housing units in partnership with private developers. here 2022.
The government plans to serve public land to attract private developers who will build homes, Sh 18.4 billion allocated for this purpose.
Houses under the plan will cost an average of 1.5 Sh millions, housing and urban development Secretary James Macharia said in April.
