Members of Parliament have formally begun entrenching CDF in the constitution after setbacks in court
rulings which declared the fund unconstitutional in its current form.
The lawmakers have sponsored a
bill which if enacted, would also hand their counterparts in the Senate an
oversight fund.
The bill by Rarieda MP Otiende
Amollo and his Ainabkoi counterpart
Samuel Chepkonga further seeks to entrench the NGAAF into the supreme law.
“The National Government Constituencies Fund is established to ensure provision of exclusive government functions in each constituency,”
the bill reads.
Under the proposed law, CDF budgets would be drawn from the monies
appropriated from the national government’s share of revenue as divided
by the Division of Revenue Act.
“All funds allocated shall be considered as funds allocated to constituencies to be administered in accordance with the provision of an Act of
Parliament,” the proposed law reads.
If the amendment - an inclusion after Article 204 - sails through, Parliament is expected to enact legislation
to make further provisions on how
the fund would be operated.
Entrenching CDF was among
recommendations in the National
Dialogue Committee process which
President William Ruto wants MPs
to fast-track.
The Senate Oversight Fund is for
its part established to ensure that the
Senate “is adequately resourced and
empowered to perform its oversight
functions”.
It would consist of monies appropriated from the national governments’ share of revenue as divided
in the annual Division of Revenue bill.
NGAAF, for its part, is a kitty administered by Woman Representatives and would be “established for
the purpose of enhancing measures
of the national government on affirmative action”.
“The object of the bill is to entrench
the funds in the constitution,” Amollo
and Chepkonga said in their memorandum on the proposed law.
“The establishment of NGCF in the
constitution would ensure reasonable
access to exclusive national government functions in all constituencies,”
the memorandum reads in part.
“It would also ensure the participation of the people in the identification
and the implementation of priority
national government programmes,”
the lawmakers said.
A court gave the National Assembly two years to complete CDF projects, deeming the law under which it
is anchored as unconstitutional.
High Court justices Kanyi Kimondo, Roselyn Aburili and Mugure
Thande said the NGCDF Act 2015,
violated the principle of separation
of powers.
The bench gave the NGCDF a period of 20 months – lapsing June 26,
2026, to complete the existing projects after which the fund would cease.
The ruling followed a petition by
Katiba Institute among other petitioners who challenged the legality
of the NG-CDG Act, 2015.
