Why CDF will no longer fund village roads, sports events

The Constituency Development Fund will no longer be used to support sports tournaments, tree planting or even construction of village roads.

A proposed law provides that CDF cash will be exclusively used on projects that fall within the mandate of the national government.

The NG-CDF (Amendment) Bill, 2023, if approved, would see an end to MPs using the cash on all functions reserved for county governments.

“A project under this Act shall only be in respect of works and services falling within the exclusive functions of the national government as provided in the Constitution,” the Bill reads.

The move could deal a huge blow to regions where small village roads have for years been maintained by MPs through CDF funding. 

In recent years, there have been concerns about duplication of projects executed by both county governments and CDF kitties.

Rights groups like Muslims for Human Rights have insisted the CDF kitty must be abolished after a court ruled that it is unconstitutional.

But MPs disagree, and have said that the ruling affected the CDF Act of 2013 and not the one of 2015, which is in force.

Instead the MPs have been working to remove instances where the fund has operated as a competitor to other devolved funds, which the current proposal is a part.

The Bill sponsored by Majority and Minority leaders Kimani Ichung’wa and Opiyo Wandayi, respectively, further proposes to abolish constituency oversight committees.

The new piece of legislation seeks to repeal sections of the law that put MPs at the centre of management of CDF kitty.

Presently, the committees have the MP and not more than other four persons appointed by the MP as members.

Lawmakers usually use the committee to address matters related to the fund and solicit proposed projects to be executed. The forums are held twice a year.

The present law provides that the public may use the meetings to make recommendation to the constituency committee on better implementation of projects, witness issuance of cheques and project launches, as well as express their views on how the fund is run.

Members of the oversight committee are also empowered to attend meetings of the constituency committee "to ensure fair distribution of the fund."

This team, as per the current law, is facilitated by funds set aside for the constituency – with a rider that such allocation doesn’t exceed one per cent of the total CDF cash disbursed in the respective year.

The Bill further seeks to recognise the 290 constituencies – as established under Article 89 of the Constitution, as national government service delivery units.

The bid is to ensure that CDF money would be used to provide oversight to the national government projects only.

“The principal object of this Bill is to amend the National Government Constituencies Development Fund Act, 2015 to provide that projects that are undertaken under the Fund shall be projects that fall within the exclusive mandate of the national government,” the House leaders said in the Bill’s memorandum of reasons.

The Bill provides that CDF would also be exclusively used to supplement infrastructure development projects that fall under the jurisdiction of the national government.

The proposed dispensation further seeks to put the Public Service Commission centrally in the recruitment of members of the CDF board.

If approved, the commission would recruit the seven members of the NG-CDF board – presently a preserve of the Treasury Cabinet Secretary.

Going forward, the seven would be appointed by the CS with the recommendation of the PSC.

The commission would be the one to invite applications from qualified persons, consider the application, shortlist and conduct interviews for the shortlisted and recommend three names to the Treasury CS.

MPs also seek to increase the number of men and women nominated to the NG-CDF committee to three – of which one must be a youth, from the current two.