Cotu rejects State plan to use housing levy for schools, markets
Central Organization of Trade Unions Kenya (Cotu-K) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli.
The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) has rejected the government’s plan to use the Housing Levy to fund infrastructure projects such as schools and markets, warning it could lead to the misuse of funds collected from salaried workers.
The union also denied any involvement in drafting the affordable housing regulations, saying the organisation was neither formally nor informally consulted in the development or approval of the Affordable Housing Regulations, contrary to claims by Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga.
State House last evening sent evidence of Mr Nadome’s appointment, with Mr Atwoli’s knowledge, to the committee that drafted the regulations. The letter by a Mr Hiram Kahiro, on behalf of Hinga, to Mr Nadome is dated March 26, 2024.
Cotu cautioned that if the current path continues, funds from the housing levy will be misdirected to other infrastructure projects such as roads and dams, leaving workers without the decent housing they were promised.
“If this trend persists, the affordable housing levy would soon be redirected to do other development projects like building of roads, dams, and other heavy expense projects while leaving workers exposed without decent housing,” Cotu Secretary-General Francis Atwoli said in a statement.
The workers’ union noted that the Affordable Housing Regulations will introduce a loophole that could allow Members of Parliament to channel housing levy funds into projects that fall outside the core mandate of providing decent and affordable housing for Kenyan workers.
"Under the Affordable Housing Regulations, housing levy funds may now, erroneously, be used to construct health facilities, pre-primary education centres, basic education centres, fire stations, police posts, social halls, markets, and open spaces, under the guise of associated social infrastructure," Mr Atwoli said in the statement.
The union said they were not involved in the drafting of the regulations.
“At no point did the Executive Board of Cotu, which is the legally mandated organ responsible for such organisational decisions, sit to deliberate or resolve to support the said regulations. If indeed PS Hinga claims that Cotu was involved, we challenge him to produce any written resolutions, minutes, or official correspondence from Cotu’s Executive Board endorsing the drafting or content of the current regulations. If anything, we have never received any communication from the Affordable Housing Board or from PS Hinga inviting Cotu to give their views on the regulations,” Mr Atwoli.
On Friday, Mr Hinga accused Cotu of misleading Kenyans, saying the union was part of the team that drafted the law providing for both houses and supporting amenities.
“Cotu was represented in person in committees that formulated this Act and regulations. Even in 2018, the Act clearly said — houses, plus social and physical infrastructure that make settlements work,” said the PS.
In the statement by Mr Atwoli, Cotu also distanced itself from its own representative, Ernest Nadome, who sits on the Affordable Housing Fund Board.
Mr Atwoli said that Mr Nadome had no mandate to make decisions on behalf of the union and had already briefed Cotu leadership on the flawed process behind the regulations.
“The board was involved in the drafting of the regulations is entirely misplaced considering the fact that Nadome’s role is clearly defined within the governance structure of the Fund and does not extend to making independent policy decisions on behalf of Cotu (K). The PS should be informed that no individual is authorised to commit the organisation to a matter of such magnitude without the express approval and resolution of the Cotu Executive Board,” said Mr Atwoli.
“It is dangerous, and frankly dishonest, to equate the presence of one individual on a board to the institutional position of Cotu. Furthermore, and for the record, Bro. Nadome has already informed the leadership of Cotu that, in deed and in fact, we, as Cotu, were not consulted in the approval of the said regulations. The PS should, therefore, stop misleading the Kenyan workers.”
Cotu called on President William Ruto to urgently intervene to ensure that the housing levy is used transparently and for its intended purpose — delivering decent, dignified, and affordable homes for Kenyan workers.