Officials from the Ministry of Lands called for the reinstatement of a 0.5 per cent levy on the cost of all construction projects whose value is more than Ksh5 million.
Speaking before the Departmental committee on housing, urban planning, and public works, the officials, led by Principal Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Charles Hinga, stated that the ministry was not able to attain its goals since the Levy was removed.
Hinga stated that the National Construction Authority (NCA) had pending bills that could easily be settled by the funds collected as a result of the levy.
The ministry further called for an increase in fees for contractors based on their categories.
“There is a section that allows NCA to collect 0.5 per cent of the cost of a project whose value is more than Ksh5 million. The provision was set aside in 2017 through an executive order.
“ From 2017 to date, we are not able to collect funds to settle the pending bills,” Joel Loremoi, the Principal Secretary for Public Works stated
Further responding to questions about pending bills in the ministry, the officials stated that urban development projects were underfunded adding that it was the major cause of mushrooming slums in the country.
However, the ministry denied claims of corruption in the issuance of the construction certificate, stating that the process was above board.
“We must put aside at least two per cent of our budget into slum upgrading and prevention, then we can start talking about the real effort t eradicate slums,” Hinga added.
The committee moreover, ordered the ministry to provide the committee with a detailed report on the list of collapsed buildings and their contractors to establish the state of collapsed buildings in the country,
Earlier on March 2, the two PSs were ejected from a Parliamentary Committee meeting after lawmakers demanded the Cabinet Secretaries appear in-person.
The members led by the Committee's Chairperson and Emurrua Dikir legislator Johanna Ng'eno protested the absence of the CS and consequently called for an adjournment to allow him time to appear.
The Lands Cabinet Secretary Zachary Njeru however, was reported to have been in Lamu for official business was not able to avail himself before the committee.
