The planned increase in fees charged for various services provided by the Lands Ministry by up to 100 percent is ill-advised and should at best be shelved.
If implemented, it will raise the cost of doing business and lock out a number of people from owning both land and homes. Increasing fees for applications for incorporation of a trust from Sh500 to Sh50,000, for example, will inflict pain on households that are already struggling to meet their daily expenses.
The proposal also has the effect of defeating the government agenda of affordable housing for the masses as well as choking a sector that employs millions of people either as skilled or manual labourers.
The authors of the scheme must learn from the counter-effects that came with higher fuel cost where collections from the Petroleum Development Levy dipped by nearly Sh1 billion in the year ended June, pointing to the depressed consumption.
Kenya should also stand up to multilateral lenders who prescribe stringent revenue collection plans meant to guarantee payment of their loans while saddling wananchi carrying extra financial burden.
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