Ruto Warns Scrapping Housing Levy Would Cost Jobs as Sifuna Vows to End ItRuto Warns Scrapping Housing Levy Would Cost Jobs as Sifuna Vows to End It
Key Highlights
- President William Ruto says scrapping the affordable housing levy would put thousands of jobs at risk, answering a vow by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna to abolish it if elected president.
- Ruto challenged Sifuna's claim about his own payments, saying a KSh 24,000 monthly deduction would imply a salary of KSh 1.8M, a calculation the report does not verify.
- Neither side's figures on collections, completed homes or jobs have been verified, leaving the economic case still to be tested.
The affordable housing levy is now a campaign fight over payslips and building-site jobs.
Speaking at a rally in Marakwet East, Elgeyo Marakwet County, on 13 October, President William Ruto said scrapping the levy would put thousands of jobs at risk, including those of Kenyans already working on affordable housing projects. He was responding to Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who vowed last week to scrap the levy if elected president.
The levy is a payroll deduction collected by the Kenya Revenue Authority to fund affordable housing. Ruto argued that ending it would also deny slum dwellers the chance to own decent, affordable homes.
A KSh 24,000 deduction and a KSh 1.8M salary
Ruto said Sifuna had claimed to pay KSh 24,000 ($185) a month towards the levy, and that this implied a monthly salary of KSh 1.8M ($13,879). The figures are Ruto's own calculation. The report does not confirm what Sifuna actually pays, and Mwenendo has not verified either number.
Ruto also said about one million children of ordinary citizens work on affordable housing projects. Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi credited the government with 1.5 million homes built over four years. Both are claims made at the rally, and Mwenendo has not verified them.
What the claims leave out
The speeches raise questions that were not answered: how much the levy has collected, how many homes it has completed and how many jobs depend on it. Those are the figures that would let workers and employers judge the levy, which is deducted from pay, against its results. This is Mwenendo's reading of the gaps, not a finding.
The building sector is where any change would be felt first. As Mwenendo earlier reported, Kenya's KSh 3.4 trillion construction queue was expected to keep demand for materials and workers high. In an earlier report by Mwenendo, a new investor for the Kitui cement factory showed how closely construction links to manufacturing jobs.
The levy's future depends on the election campaign and on whatever evidence each side produces. Readers should look for official collection and delivery figures rather than rally estimates.
In Summary
- Who is arguing over the levy?
- President William Ruto, who defends it, and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who vows to scrap it if elected president.
- What did Ruto say?
- That scrapping the levy would put thousands of jobs at risk, including on affordable housing projects.
- When was it said?
- On 13 October 2026, a week after Sifuna's pledge.
- Where was the statement made?
- At a rally in Marakwet East, Elgeyo Marakwet County.
- Why does it matter to workers?
- The levy is a payroll deduction, so any change affects take-home pay and construction jobs.
- How reliable are the figures?
- The KSh 24,000, KSh 1.8M, one million and 1.5 million figures are claims made at the rally and are unverified.