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{
    "id": 1416952,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1416952/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 122,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Molo, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kuria Kimani",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "levy of 2 per cent, this will be a key departure from the KRA Act. These are some of the amendments that we hope to fix in the Finance Bill. Also, another amendment that has been proposed by the Senate is the definition of social housing. It ensures specification of incomes of people who will benefit from the houses to make sure that the implementing agencies ensure that the affordable housing units are not just for the rich or the middle class, but they are also for those that earn the minimum wage in this country. Key to also note among the amendments is the inclusion of the National Construction Authority and the State Department for Public Works as some of the implementing agencies of these projects. We have seen some buildings collapse due to lack of proper supervision by the State Department of Public Works and sometimes due to lack of empowering the National Construction Authority to supervise the construction of these projects as mandated by respective Acts of Parliament. Therefore, involving the National Construction Authority and the State Department for Public works will ensure they maintain the integrity of the buildings so that we do not have them collapsing. These two entities will play a more active role. The Bill we approved and sent to the Senate had provisions of Sharia Law to the effect that mortgages that are going to be provided in this programme are Sharia compliant. Hon. Tandaza was concerned that maybe the Senate had proposed an amendment to that. I would like to confirm to him that the Senate did not propose any further amendment to what this House approved on that. So, the mortgages that are going to be issued through the affordable housing scheme will be to be Sharia-compliant as far as possible. This is a step in the right direction, especially as our Muslim brothers and sisters observe the holy month of Ramadhan. The National Assembly had amended provisions of the Housing Levy be tied to the Tax Procedures Act in terms of the date of collection and the penalties thereof. However, Senate has disagreed with the National Assembly on this particular amendment and has brought back the penalty at 3 per cent if this Housing Levy is not levied on time. We still feel that this particular Levy should be tied to the Tax Procedures Act so that it is remitted to the Kenya Revenue Authority as a civil debt, just like all the other levies and taxes are levied. We hope that subsequently, in the coming legislation, then we will again tie the collection of the Housing Levy to the Tax Procedures Act to ensure that there is fairness and uniformity in how we do tax administration in this country. For the comfort of this House, the issue of institutional housing continues to come up. It is a very critical area because many students in universities, polytechnics and Kenya Medical Training Colleges live in deplorable situations. We are happy to observe that the amendments that were proposed by this House to include institutional housing as part of the functions of the Fund have been accepted by the Senate. This will ensure that our students in universities and colleges will have decent places to stay in when they are in school. That is why we agree with these amendments and therefore they do not need to go for mediation. The Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning and the Departmental Committee on Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works have agreed. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I beg to second."
}