Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome on Wednesday, November 29, warned Kenyan employers against failing to remit the Affordable Housing Levy following the Tuesday, November 28, ruling.
In a statement, Wahome maintained that the levy would be in place until January 10, 2024, in line with the stay issued by the High Court on its previous ruling declaring the fund as unconstitutional.
As such, the CS belabored that it was the duty of all employers to continue deducting the 1.5% of salaries from its employees and remit the funds to KRA.
Failure to remit the funds, CS Wahome stated, would attract liability for the employer.
“An employer who fails to comply with the law shall be liable to payment of a penalty equivalent to two per cent of the unpaid funds for every month if the same remains unpaid,” Wahome affirmed.
In her statement, Wahome committed further to assisting employer and, in a bid, to enhance compliance with the Affordable Housing Levy deductions.
Alice Wahome reacts to court ruling
Her statement came hours after two rulings by the High Court regarding petitions filed to challenge the fund’s constitutionality.
In a ruling by a three-judge bench, the High Court in Nairobi annulled the fund on grounds of lacking a legal framework to govern it.
Also Read: Housing Levy Null & Void: Will Kenyans be Refunded?
The judges led by Justice Majanja also took issue with the failure by the government to make the fund all-inclusive and choosing to only target Kenyans in formal employment.
In addition, the bench found that the Kenya Revenue Authority – KRA lacked the mandate to collect funds from such a levy and as such compounding the legality questions.
However, the government then pleaded for a 45-day stay of the ruling arguing that it needed some time to regularize and comply with the ruling.
Also Read: Court Declares Housing Levy Unconstitutional
Justice Majanja and his bench later ruled that the nullification would take effect on January 10, 2024, to cut short the celebration by some Kenyans.
The court’s decision drew criticism from some quarters with some Kenyans questioning why it allowed continued implementation of a fund it had declared as unconstitutional.
Speaking after the decision, President William Ruto welcomed the ruling noting that the High Court had challenged the government to seal the legal gaps in the law.
The President, nonetheless, reaffirmed his plans to sustain the affordable housing plan touting it as the key to jobs creation in the country.
