The Housing Levy, the biggest levy to salaried Kenyans, remains shrouded in unacceptable secrecy. Unlike the Social Health Authority levy, which has clear statutory oversight and reporting frameworks, the Housing Levy exists in a cloud of ambiguity.
Where exactly is the money banked? How much has been collected so far? What is the current balance? The Treasury has confirmed that the funds are held outside the Consolidated Fund in a Central Bank account, yet no regular public reporting has been provided to date.
There are reports that over Sh54 billion was collected in the first year, but only a fraction – roughly Sh16 billion – has been directed to actual housing projects. Billions more have been diverted or earmarked for non-core expenditures such as schools, markets, police stations and roads.
While these are essential public services, they fall outside the remit of a housing levy and risk undermining the fund’s primary mission.
Kenyans did not agree to an additional payroll deduction so the funds could be parked in Treasury bills or repurposed for unrelated infrastructure.
Such opacity creates room for misuse, weakens accountability, and ultimately stalls progress on the very problem the levy was created to address: the housing crisis. Parliament and the Treasury owe Kenyans a full accounting.
An annual audit and regular publication of financial records are not just good practice- they are a democratic necessity.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.” — English writer Charles Dickens died on June 9, 1870
