Housing PS Hinga spark taxing idle land row
Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga has revealed that the government has set plans to introduce idle land tax to discourage Kenyans from holding onto land for speculative purposes.
He was speaking during an induction meeting for the Senate Health Committee on Roads, Transport and Housing on Friday in Naivasha.
“The government is contemplating introducing idle land tax to discourage Kenyans from holding onto land. This would prompt the owners of the land to either build structures on them or sell the land to commercial; developers. We need more land for affordable housing projects which cannot be found because people are not ready to sell land to the government,” he said.
“Taxing idle land will serve as a deterrent to owners who hold land without making it useful either in housing or food production,” he added.
According to the PS, the government has been forced to turn to state owned facilities such as prisons to get land for the affordable housing programme.
Other measures the government could use to get more land for the projects include convincing state corporations holding idle land to cede it for development.
The PS proposed the relocation of prisons located in towns to create room for the development of houses.
He also urged Kenya Railways to cede land they aren’t using for the affordable housing program.
He explained that the programme seeks to reduce the mushrooming of informal settlements and ensure Kenyans have access to decent and adequate housing.
He observed that the programme will also go a long way in promoting economic recovery by linking MSMEs and Jua Kali sector to these projects and generate jobs for the youths at the same time.
