• MPs are currently allocated about Sh140 million each, amount growing every three years.
• A total of Sh420 billion has been allocated towards CDF since inception in 2003.
Image: MAURICE ALAL
The next crop of MPs could enjoy enhanced National Government Constituency Development Fund of up to Sh300 million.
This is after a key committee approved the allocation to five per cent of the national revenue.
This follows the approval of a bill seeking to increase the minimum share of the national government revenue to NG-CDF to five per cent.
Currently, the minimum share is 2.5 per cent of the national government share of revenue as stated in the Division of Revenue Act for a given financial year.
The NG-CDF committee of the National Assembly chaired by Kanduyi MP Wafula Wamunyinyi voted to approve the bill proposed by Butere lawmaker Tindi Mwale.
If approved and assented to by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the allocation to the fund is set to double to Sh82 billion, positioning constituencies to receive double the current Sh140 million for each.
CDF has grown from the initial disbursement of Sh1.3 billion in 2003 to the tens of billions in the kitty today for projects in line with national government functions.
“The proposed amendment is progressive and would lead to a high percentage of funds being dedicated to the constituencies and would generate enormous benefits,” the Wamunyinyi-led committee said.
“The committee, having considered the bill by Mwale and taking into considerations the submissions from stakeholders and the public, recommends that the House passes the bill without amendments,” the House team said.
The committee justified the increment on grounds that the 100 per cent transition to secondary school has increased demand for infrastructure in learning institutions to accommodate the students.
In the current dispensation, education is allocated 41 per cent of the NG-CDF allocation, the same for infrastructure and bursaries for needy students.
“An increase in the fund would see a larger percentage of the population obtain the much sought-after education,” the NG-CDF board said.
The board, under the stewardship of Yusuf Mbuno, also cited an increase in demand for sanitary and lavatory facilities within the constituencies.
MPs also said the increment was necessary to help people – from all over the country, regain their jobs, obtain new jobs, and adequately provide for their families.
They also said an increment would see speedy completion of ongoing projects that delay for lack of sufficient funding.
“An increase in [NG]-CDF would lead to an increase in the general security of the country as additional funds would be made available for projects such as construction of police stations, fencing of schools, and construction of offices for local administrators,” the committee said.
They held that members of the public, during the stakeholder consultation forums, decried low bursary and restricted interventions – security and education, yet other areas have other priorities.
Details show that at least Sh420.3 billion has been spent for the 18 years of its existence. However, the current rate of Sh41 billion has been applied for the past three years.
The National Treasury, however, poured cold water on the proposal saying it is not feasible and sustainable considering the country’s cash situation.
“Taking into account the current economic performance and projections for the medium term, the proposed additional funding is not feasible and sustainable,” Treasury CS Ukur Yatani told MPs.
“In view of the above, the Treasury does not support the passage of the proposed amendment bill,” the CS said in a submission to the committee.
But in contrast, the State Department of Planning — which is under the Treasury ministry — backed the proposal citing the additional benefits to Kenyans.
“Increased funding to NG-CDF would result to more benefits to the people of Kenya by channeling more resources to meet the ever-increasing needs,” Planning PS Saitoti Torome told MPs.
“Constituencies would be expected to receive annual allocations in excess of the current Sh137,088,879. The State Department for Planning therefore supports the proposed amendment,” the PS added.
He called on MPs to increase the budgetary allocation to the fund, saying “an upward adjustment of the threshold would require an increase in the resource envelope.”
Governors, for their part, asked that the bill be withdrawn to await the decision of the Appeal Court challenging the declaration that the NG-CDF is unconstitutional.
The Interior ministry, Education ministry, and several action groups in the country have backed the proposed increment.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)