Nyoro turns heat on Ruto over housing levy, Dangote deal
Nyoro said teachers were not interested in government promises of affordable homes if the deductions from their salaries continued to erode their earnings without a clear benefit to them.
People’s Party of Kenya (PPK) leader Ndindi Nyoro has accused President William Ruto’s administration of burdening teachers with mandatory deductions under the affordable housing programme while failing to demonstrate tangible benefits to the workers funding the scheme.
Nyoro said teachers were not interested in government promises of affordable homes if the deductions from their salaries continued to erode their earnings without a clear benefit to them.
Speaking during a public rally in Laare, Igembe North Constituency, Meru County today, October 5, 2026, the Kiharu Member of Parliament (MP) said teachers wanted dignity, fair pay and protection of their salaries rather than housing promises that, he claimed, had yet to address their immediate concerns.
“Teachers are not asking for houses. They are asking for their salaries to be respected,” Nyoro said, arguing that the mandatory deductions had imposed an additional burden on workers already struggling with the rising cost of living.
He accused the administration of allowing deductions to benefit individuals and vested interests instead of directly addressing the welfare of the workers from whom the money is collected.
The housing levy, introduced under the government’s affordable housing programme, requires employees and their employers to make contributions towards financing the construction of affordable housing units.
The levy has, however, faced sustained political and legal opposition, with critics questioning its impact on workers and the transparency surrounding its administration.
Nyoro also turned his guns on the government’s handling of the proposed Dangote oil refinery and petrochemical investment in Lamu, demanding that the administration disclose the agreements and ownership arrangements underpinning the multi-billion-shilling project.
The PPK leader challenged Ruto to stop what he described as “chest-thumping” over the investment and instead give Kenyans access to the details of the deal.
He accused Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale of attacking opposition leaders and other Kenyans demanding transparency over the project, claiming that the CS was acting on instructions from the President.
Nyoro said Kenyans were not seeking special treatment but exercising their right to information about an investment whose development could involve public land, infrastructure and other state resources.
He renewed his 14-day ultimatum to Ruto to publicly disclose the shareholders of the proposed refinery and release the investment agreement for public scrutiny.
The refinery, planned for Lamu, is one of the largest proposed private-sector investments in Kenya and has been presented by the government as a major boost to the country’s energy security, industrialisation and job creation.
President Ruto and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote are expected to spearhead the project, which has been estimated at about Sh2 trillion, although questions have emerged over land acquisition, environmental approvals, public participation and the terms governing the investment.
The project has also attracted legal scrutiny after residents challenged aspects of the development in court, raising concerns over land and environmental issues.
Nyoro maintained that the government must account for every public resource committed to the project and disclose who stands to benefit from the investment.
He accused the administration of using public resources to benefit individuals, insisting that Kenyans deserved full disclosure before the project proceeds.
The PPK leader further criticised the government over the plight of miraa farmers, accusing officials of failing to dismantle cartels that he said were exploiting growers in Meru and surrounding areas.
He said miraa farmers had endured years of promises from successive administrations that the sector would be protected from middlemen and cartels, but little had changed.
Nyoro challenged the government to demonstrate its commitment to the farmers by protecting their markets, improving regulation and ensuring growers receive a fair return from the lucrative crop.
His remarks come as the government faces growing political pressure over the cost of living, taxation, public-sector deductions and the management of major investments, with opposition leaders increasingly making accountability and transparency central to their campaigns ahead of the 2027 General Election.
