Teachers To Be Refunded Housing Levy In Two Weeks Time

Teachers To Be Refunded Housing Levy In Two Weeks Time. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was given a 14-day ultimatum by the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) on Wednesday to reimburse the housing levy or risk legal action.

 

 

 

 

Kuppet referred to the deductions as TSC’s flagrant disregard for court rulings.

 

 

 

 

“The commission has no justification whatsoever for taking teacher funds without a valid legal basis. Moses Nthurima, the acting secretary general of Kuppet, stated, “The superior courts have spoken for themselves, and it is in the public domain they cannot claim they don’t know the orders and for that reason, they have to return the money.”

 

 

 

 

When it became apparent that the 406,000 teachers’ payroll had housing levy deductions in their February wages despite the tax being declared, Nthurima urged that TSC should return all the money that had been withheld.

 

On 21st February the Attorney General wrote to the Kenya Revenue Authority advising it to stop deduction of house levy terming the act unconstitutional.

“The government has demonstrated insatiable appetite of defying court orders… Kuppet demands the immediate refund of the illegal deductions, within 14 days failure to do so we shall institute legal proceedings,” Nthurima said.

He said the housing levy deductions are an outright defiance of court orders.

 

Nthurima further questioned TSC’s excuse for making deductions this month despite the court order.

Teachers To Be Refunded Housing Levy In Two Weeks Time

He revealed that TSC had indicated its intention to refund the deductions in official correspondence with the union.

 

“The commission last month, in January, said that they had already processed the payroll, this month, they cannot give the same excuse. So as teachers, we are saying that the CEO and commissioners (TSC) are in contempt of court,” Nthurima said.

 

A payslip by a teacher in job group C3, seen by The Standard, shows that the Commission deducted Sh1,114 as housing levy.

 

The teacher said that there has been no explanation on the deductions and whether they will be stopped.

 

“We hoped that this deduction would be stopped this month but we were shocked after downloading the payslip,” the teacher said.

Nthurima said that the commission is independent with powers bestowed upon it by the Constitution and, hence should not play puppet to the Executive.

 

“TSC is supposed to be independent, they do their own things away from the Executive but now the commission is playing into the hands of the executive… so this is blatant disobedience of the law,” he said.

 

On February 20, MPs passed the Housing Bill in Parliament during the second reading.

Teachers To Be Refunded Housing Levy In Two Weeks Time

And on February 21, the MPs okayed the Bill during the third reading.

 

During the House proceedings, a section of the opposition MPs walked out of the chambers as the Bill sailed through after getting a nod from 141 legislators against 58 who opposed it.

 

The Bill will now be presented before the Senate for deliberation before it is assented to law by the President.