MPs have renewed their fight to save the National Government Constituency Development Fund in the face of the court ruling calling for its scrapping.
A court gave the National Assembly two years to complete CDF projects, deeming the law under which it is anchored as unconstitutional.
The High Court said the NGCDF Act, 2015, violated the principle of separation of powers.
The agenda featured heavily in the lawmakers’ retreat in Naivasha on Tuesday. National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula assured MPs his office would do everything to preserve the fund.
“As you are aware, the NGCDF has been instrumental in funding projects that improve education, infrastructure and community development,” he said. “As the matter unfolds in the Court of Appeal, we must prepare to engage constructively and explore alternative solutions to ensure that development at the constituency level does not stall.”
The Act ( 2015 ) was amended in 2022 and 2023 in an apparent bid to beat a similar declaration of a 2013 Act that suffered a similar fate with unsuccessful appeals at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
A three-judge bench comprising justices Kanyi Kimondo, Mugure Thande and Roselyne Aburili on Friday declared the Act unconstitutional, citing failure by the National Assembly to consult the Senate when the Act was enacted.
The trio, sitting at Nairobi’s Milimani law courts, said the fund and all its projects, programmes and activities shall cease to operate on June 30, 2026. The programme has been running since 2003.
Speaking in Naivasha, Wetang’ula said many students will be forced to drop out of school if the fund is scrapped next year.
“To this end, there may be a need to consider other options beyond the court process and the amendments to the constitution to safeguard the fund. These may include exploring possible statutory amendments that may be effected to safeguard and entrench the fund,” he said.
“I am pleased to note that this is one of the matters you will be deliberating on during this retreat, and it is my hope that you will ventilate further on the legislative proposal and other options for ensuring the continuity of the fund.”
The speaker urged members to consider their lives after exiting Parliament as well as the post-service medical scheme.
“As a long-serving member of Parliament, I have seen many elected leaders exit the House, some do come back, some don’t. Many of our colleagues fail to appreciate that life in public office is just but for a season and end up struggling to live the life after,” Wetang’ula said.
“In this regard, if you do not plan for your life as a member for days you will no longer be in office, the experiences may be one of regret.”
The weeklong retreat attended by all members of Parliament is meant to take stock of the House performance in the previous session, share experiences and chart the way forward.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah urged MPs to reclaim the House mandate as well as combat misinformation in the House deliberations.
The Kikuyu MP called for a refocus on their constitutional role urging departmental committees to step up their oversight roles and ensure critical issues affecting citizens are addressed effectively.
“It is the National Assembly, not the Senate, that represents the people,” he said, adding that recent trends have seen topical issues concerning constituents taken up by the Senate.
“This is a role that constitutionally belongs to our departmental committees. We must ensure that we are not overshadowed.”
Ichung’wah also disclosed plans to review the composition of committees to enhance their efficiency and impact. He said some members’ failure to attend committee meetings was a clear indicator of disinterest or misplaced assignment, calling for equitable redistribution of roles.
“ We will reconstitute committees to ensure resources are deployed where they are most needed. Members who fail to attend committee sessions will be reassigned to areas where they can perform better,” Ichung’wah said.
National Assembly Minority
leader Junet Mohamed called for
bipartisan approach in deliberating
important national issues.