Kenyans earning Ksh50,000 could get up to Ksh38,250 from the government if Democracy for Citizens Party leader Rigathi Gachagua is elected president in 2027.
This is equal to 51 months worth of Housing Levy deductions, which Gachagua has vowed to scrap and refund all those who have paid for the levy introduced in 2023.
Gachagua spoke on Sunday, September 14, during a church service in Nyeri, where he promised an economic reset if he is elected as the country's sixth Head of State. The vocal former deputy president subtly accused President William Ruto of misleading the masses with false promises.
"The country is almost broke. We have a debt of Ksh12trillion," Gachagua claimed. "If Kenyans elect me as president, I don't want to promise lies...I want to restore the Kenya state to where Mwai Kibaki left us."
Among his top priorities, Gachagua listed the revival of several defunct functions, including the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and overhauling the university funding models.
More sensationally, the former DP took aim at what he described as over taxation of workers' salaries by the Kenya Kwanza government as he vowed to do away with excess deductions.
“Most of you who have a payslip know it’s been raided, and that’s why you have no purchasing power. I will restore the dignity of the payslip,” he went on.
To that end, Gachagua revealed plans to abolish the housing levy and hand over all completed housing units to the county government, which would in turn collect revenue in the form of rent and repay those who were subjected to initial deductions.
Under the Affordable Housing Act, 2024, employers are required to deduct 1.5 per cent of an employee's gross monthly income, while employers also contribute 1.5 per cent, making it a total of 3 per cent going to the housing levy for those in the formal sector.
Despite consistent resistance to the levy from various stakeholders, President William Ruto has consistently maintained that the Affordable Housing will form part of his legacy and the initiative is geared towards the best interest of Kenyans.
During Madaraka Day celebrations on June 1, Ruto specifically claimed the Affordable Housing initiative was a transformative move, vowing not to relent in his mission of building 200,000 housing units each year.
“Today, it is a lived reality for millions of Kenyans, transforming lives and reshaping destinies across the country, day by day,” If you didn’t understand what we meant by ‘bottom-up’, now you do. If you didn’t believe, now you believe.” Ruto said at the time.
On Sunday, Gachagua also touched on matters of justice and human rights, promising an end to forced disappearances.
