Raila faults MPs' bid to retain CDF, says housing levy should be a fund

ODM leader Raila Odinga has said that National Treasury John Mbadi is under instruction from the party to ensure the housing levy is converted into an investment fund in this year’s budget.

Raila said this will enable contributors who fail to get the house under the government-run affordable housing scheme, to recoup their money.

Speaking during the 42nd Annual Seminar of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), Raila also reiterated his stand against the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

He said the CDF should be abolished so that MPs and MCAs are left to do oversight and legislative roles while the governors issue bursaries. “Do all the public participation you want, but in a referendum you will lose. Bursaries should be distributed by governors,” said Raila.

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Raila said Kenya is faced with massive unemployment, rising cost of living, inflation, debt, income inequality, climate change and ethnic-charged toxic politics. He added: “I am not defending governors, but it is not right when the President goes to launch a road and the contractor is the MP from the next constituency.”

He also called for a transparent tax regime backed with a strong regulatory and legal framework. He said the government should consult widely over the new budget. “The instability and protests we witnessed last year indicate that we do not have the luxury of time to create a country and an economy that works for everyone,” he said.

He said Kenyans expect Mbadi to formulate a budget that will address the ballooning tax burden. Raila also told ODM experts in government time to deliver. The former PM was reacting to accountants’ allegations that his team in government has failed to deliver solutions to an ailing the economy.

He said the tax regime should also be lean and have efficient bureaucracy to grow the size of the national cake.

ICPAK chairman Philip Kakai raised concerns over the Sh11 trillion public debt with 60 per cent consuming revenues and what remains for development is worryingly thin. “Meanwhile, inflation is pushing basic goods out of reach for millions, and youth unemployment remains at 35 per cent, robbing our country of its most potent asset, its people,” said Kakai.