Kenya’s President William Ruto has signed into law a controversial bill, paving the way for the government to continue collecting a housing levy of 1.5% of a worker’s monthly pay.

The levy is intended to pay for the construction of affordable housing for poorer Kenyans.

The levy, which had been mentioned in Mr. Ruto’s manifesto for the 2022 election, was part of a finance law adopted last June that also doubled the sales tax on fuel.

The government has argued that it needs to increase its revenue from taxation in order to reduce the budget deficit and pay for public services.