Over 100 memoranda have been submitted towards the national assembly’s affordable housing bill as Parliament is set to start advertising a weeklong public participation itinerary from today.
The chairperson of the Finance committee of the august house MP Kimani Kuria reveals that the public participation exercise of the bill will be conducted in 12 counties despite a court order blocking its implementation.
“We have finalized all logistics and ready to receive views from the public. Over 100 memoranda received from the public. Focus will be on contribution on the levy and beneficiary aspects,” Kuria Kimani, the Chairperson of the National Assembly’s Finance committee, said.
While ruling on a petition filed by Grassroot trust, A Kisumu court ordered that the the National assembly should conduct adequate public sensitization on the bill especially to the marginalized members of the society after the a three judge bench led by Justice David Majanja issued a stay order on the finance act after the bench found the affordable housing levy had left out the informal sector contrary to tax laws of inclusivity.
“There is no contempt because we stopped and are now doing it differently. You cannot gag an independent body from doing its job from the grassroots, unless they now tell us who they want to make laws. We will proceed,” he said.
The National Assembly had initially set December 28, 2023 as the deadline to receive memoranda on the Affordable Housing Bill, 2023, whose revised edition was tabled by Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah in Parliament on December 7.
Speaking at a local media house, LSK Chairman Eric Theuri claims that that the government is a hurry to enact the housing bill with intention of vacating the provisions of the finance act of 2023 on the unconstitutional controversial levy