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Kenya Kwanza Senators yesterday defeated amendments proposed by the minority side to pass the controversial Housing Levy.

Senators allied to President William Ruto voted overwhelmingly to defeat amendments proposed by the Opposition that would have altered the Affordable Housing Bill clauses.

Although the Senate minority side fought tooth and nail to have their views incorporated as part of the amendments, the numerical strength by the Kenya Kwanza lawmakers swept their proposed amendments to the dustbin rendering them helpless.

Okong’o Omogeni (Nyamira) wanted the deductions capped at Sh2,500 as well as the affordable housing levy to be paid at the rate of 1.5 per cent of the net salary of an employer or of an employee.

The bill proposes that the Affordable Housing Levy should be pegged on gross salary of an employee or any gross income received or accrued that is not a salary.

Omogeni argued that the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary ought exempt from payment of the levy any person who enters into a subsisting mortgage that is not contemplated under the Act.

In addition, Omogeni (pictured) observed that any person residing in a rural area and is in possession of a certificate of title registered in their name and any person engaged in agricultural farming or business activities whose annual turnover is less than Sh288,000 per year should be exempted.

Omogeni wanted his amendments passed that individuals aged 50 years and above, and are engaged in informal business activities as well as any person with less than five years remaining to statutory retirement at the time of the enactment of the Act should be exempted from the mandatory housing levy tax.

He further wanted to have all monies collected through the levy to be allocated to county governments as a conditional grant and that counties to be tasked with the management of the fund and not the proposed Affordable Housing Fund Board.

“This Bill creates a board to be in charge of dealing with investment programmes on all housing projects in counties. This will be in conflict with the Schedule Six of the Constitution that reserves housing and development as a function of counties,” charged Omogeni.

He went on: “If we allow the boards to undertake this function then it would be in conflict with provisions of the Constitution.”

However, Roads, Transportation and Housing committee chaired by Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa managed to push through their amendments.

According to the committee, a person is eligible for allocation of only a single housing unit provided they meet prescribed criteria in the regulations.

The Karungo wa Thang’wa led committee further amended the bill to provide that where the amount remains unpaid, shall be summarily recovered as a civil debt for the person liable to remit the amount.