Raila Denies Endorsement of Ruto’s Housing Plan
Raila Odinga, the leader of ODM, has refuted claims that he supports President William Ruto’s affordable housing initiative, stating that he does not consider it a commendable endeavor.
On Monday, through the party’s X handle, Raila issued a statement distancing both himself and the entire Azimio coalition from the program. This comes a day after Ruto claimed that the former Prime Minister had endorsed the initiative.
“Party Leader Raila Odinga, the ODM family, and the entire Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition do not support the imposition of illegal taxes on Kenyans in the name of building Low-Cost Houses,” the opposition party said.
“The media should be factual in their reporting and stop being sensational.”
On Sunday, Ruto praised Raila for recognizing the housing project as a commendable initiative. He urged an end to discussions regarding the controversial housing levy.
The President, addressing an interdenominational prayer gathering at the Approved School in Kakamega County, mentioned that both the Kenya Kwanza and Azimio political movements have included the affordable housing agenda in their respective manifestos.
He said had Azimio won the August polls and formed government, “they would have implemented it in their way, but since we (Kenya Kwanza) are the ones in power, we will implement it in our model”.
“The former prime minister said that affordable housing is a very important thing and that is what I have been saying. What was the bickering about? The argument over this program must stop now,” the President said.
On Saturday, Raila asserted that Kenya Kwanza had taken credit for the affordable housing initiative from Azimio but was executing it incorrectly by relying on taxation.
During a conversation with Mwariama FM, a radio station broadcasting in the Meru vernacular, Raila expressed the view that the government should have initially taken the time to clarify the initiative to the Kenyan public before hastily putting it into action.
“The government should have first held a major national conference to make Kenyans understand its change of policy on housing and what it is all about before rolling it out,” Raila said.
The head of ODM criticized the government’s uniform strategy, stating that the construction of houses should have been tailored to suit the specific requirements of each household.
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Raila said affordable housing does not mean building the same houses all over.
He said the home acquisition plan should have also been flexible where Kenyans willing to buy houses are allowed to do so as opposed to imposing taxes across the board.
“You can’t have one design, in other areas you build bungalows, in some areas, residents provide land and labor while the government provides materials to improve their houses,” he said.
According to Raila, the idea behind affordable housing is to upgrade living standards in informal settlements without loading the burden of the cost of construction on Kenyans through taxes.
He said he initiated a similar program during his tenure as minister for housing in the Kibaki administration.
“It was never about telling people to repay; where will they get that money?” he posed.
Ruto has vowed to proceed with the affordable housing project despite courts having twice put a stop to the 1.5 percent housing levy he imposed on salaried Kenyans to fund the project.
The President argues that the plan which seeks to construct 200,000 housing units per year will create employment opportunities for the youth, engineers, carpenters, masons, manufacturers quarry producers, architects, and transporters among others.
Raila Denies Endorsement of Ruto’s Housing Plan
