Push to save students affected by CDF ‘ban’ lodged in Senate

A push to have the National Treasury send bursary funds directly to beneficiary students’ schools has been launched in Parliament in the wake of the court's declaration of CDF as unconstitutional.

This even as it emerged that thousands of students who entirely depend on the National Government-Constituency Development Fund bursary for fees are on the brink of dropping out of school.

In a bid to save the students who mostly come from poor families, senators want the funds sent directly to schools as MPs realign the NG-CDF law.

The lawmakers are set to invite the Treasury chiefs to discuss the modalities of channeling the funds to schools to save the poor and needy students.

“The committee [Finance and Budget] should clarify from the National Treasury the possibility of having the NG-CDF funds released directly to the beneficiary student’s schools in the country,” Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana said.

The senator said that thousands of students in his county are at the risk of dropping out of school due to lack of bursaries.

This, he said, is a repetition of what is happening across the country, where some students have been forced to stay away from school for more than a month due to lack of fees.

The lawmaker wants the committee to push the Treasury to state urgent measures it was taking to ensure students who depended on the NG-CDF for school fees are able to go back to continue with their education.

Nandi Senator Samson Cheragei said the Treasury should go for legal and innovative ways to help students whose education is on the brink.

“Something must be done urgently, otherwise the future of many students will be ruined,” the senator said.

In August this year, the Supreme Court declared the CDF Act 2013 as unconstitutional.

“A declaration is hereby made that the Constituency Development Fund Act, 2013 is unconstitutional,” the verdict given by the five-judge bench read in part.

In its verdict, the Supreme Court found that the law allowing MPs to manage funds offends the division of revenue and public finance law.

The court said the CDF amounted to an inter-governmental transfer of functions.

“We agree with the reasoning adopted by the High Court to the effect that the CDF Act 2013 violates the principle of separation of powers and that the CDF Act 2013 is unconstitutional,” the verdict said.

Since the declaration by the apex court, the National Treasury has yet to disburse funds, including balances from the previous years following the ruling.

This has hit several projects and programmes, such as bursaries funded by the NG-CDF.

Currently, two lawmakers have proposed to amend the Constitution to entrench the NG-CDF, National Government Affirmative Action Fund (Ngaaf), Senate Oversight Fund and the Economic Stimulus and Empowerment Fund.

Matungulu MP Stephen Mule and his Gichugu counterpart Gichimu Githinji, who are the co-sponsors, want the law changed to provide that five per cent of national government revenue goes to the CDF.

They have also proposed that 0.25 per cent of national government revenue be allocated to Ngaaf and 0.001 per cent to the Senate Oversight Fund.

The CDF was introduced in 2003 during the Mwai Kibaki presidency with the aim of devolving some funds to the grassroots so that people would have a say on development.

(edited by Amol Awuor)