Wamalwa: Housing levy is the country’s biggest scandal
By Nancy Marende, July 24, 2025Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa has declared that the opposition will scrap the housing levy if elected into power in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking at a local TV station on Thursday, July 24, 2025, Wamalwa criticised the levy as the country’s “biggest scandal,” claiming it has become a conduit for corruption rather than a tool for addressing the housing crisis.
“When Kenyans give us an opportunity to form the next government. The executive’s number one priority is to remove the housing levy. It is the country’s biggest scandal. It is a conduit for corruption. We will strike that out and return the money to Kenyans’ pockets,” he said.
Wamalwa accused the government of shifting the goalposts on the levy’s purpose from affordable housing to youth employment, claiming that funds deducted from Kenyans’ salaries are now being used to construct markets and fund county-level projects without transparency or accountability.
“When it began, it was intended for Kenyans to acquire houses, but now it is about creating employment opportunities for the youth. It has now become clear that the money deducted from Kenyans is substantial. They are now building markets with the money and counties and using it as a campaigning tool,” he added.
Housing levy
His remarks come a month after National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi revealed that the government is actively considering restructuring the Affordable Housing Levy in response to growing concerns from salaried employees.
Mbadi, who spoke during a plenary session with senators on Wednesday, June 5, 2025, acknowledged that while the levy has notable benefits, its current implementation has triggered widespread discontent among workers.
“There is a discussion on seeing how to restructure it because it has a lot of serious benefits, in my view. But at the same time, individual employees with payslips have complaints that cannot be ignored,” he said.
The Affordable Housing Levy was introduced by the Kenya Kwanza administration in 2023 as part of President William Ruto’s flagship initiative to provide affordable housing to low- and middle-income Kenyans.
However, the mandatory deductions from workers’ salaries have faced criticism, particularly from formal sector employees who argue the levy is a financial burden.
Mbadi emphasised that the Treasury is already engaged in discussions to review the framework of the levy and promised that further details will be provided soon.
“A lot of restructuring is going on, and more pronouncements will come in due course.”
Under the initial terms, employees contribute 1.5 percent of their gross salary, matched by an equal amount from employers.
This means that for every employee, a total of 3 per cent of their gross salary goes to the housing levy, half from the employee and half from the employer.