By Irene Mwende
According to the study, only one-quarter (24 per cent) of the respondents support the housing levy.
The economic survey conducted between June 23 and June 30, 2023, indicated that 7 per cent of the 1,530 respondents remained undecided on the matter.
Speaking Tuesday during the release of the findings, TIFA Research Analyst Tom Wolf highlighted that a majority of the Opposition supporters are against the housing levy suggesting a correlation between political alignment and public opinion.
“By contrast, and unsurprisingly, nearly all Opposition supporters oppose it (84%), suggesting that to a large extent, such opinions are more a reflection of political alignment than of the details of the program itself (which are to become better known in due course, with whatever impact on the public’s opinion about it),” he said.
The survey also revealed that 54 percent of Kenyans believe that those who contribute to the Housing Levy will not have the opportunity to own a house.
In contrast, only 11 percent of the respondents expressed confidence that levy payers would eventually become homeowners.
“Expectations that those who pay the new housing levy will ever get a house are quite most, with nearly five times as many of all Kenyans certain that they will not compared to those who certain that they will (54% vs. 11%),” TIFA said.
According to the pollster, such expressed expectations are markedly shaped by political alignment, however, with five times more Government supporters (20 per cent) certain they will get a house as compared to Opposition supporters (4 per cent).