- Budget and Appropriation Committee, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wa said the money will settle all arrears.
- He asked MPs to diligently paly their oversight role to ensure the Constituency Development Committees utilise the money in accordance with the law.
Image: HANDOUT
MPs have finally been allocated Sh2.9 billion after months of protests over delays.
This means each of the 290 constituencies will receive an equal share of Sh10 million.
MPs have been threatening to frustrate the passage of the Supplementary budget for the year 2022-2023 in the event the NG-CDF will not be factored in the budget.
The money has now been allocated in the First Supplementary Budget of 2022/23 that has been tabled in the National Assembly for approval.
Various institutions had been appearing before various departmental Committees to defend their spending plans.
The powerful Budget and Appropriations Committee has now prepared a report on the mini-budget, which was tabled on Tuesday afternoon by panel chairperson Ndindi Nyoro.
While supporting the report of the Budget and Appropriation Committee, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah said the money will settle all arrears.
"Now we have resources to clear all the arrears, others dating back to the 2022 financial," Ichung'wah told the MPs.
He asked the lawmakers to diligently exercise their oversight role to ensure that the Constituency Development Committees utilise the money in accordance with the law.
"I know that as MPs we have no role in the spending of the CDF funds but we serve an oversight role, let us make sure prudent use of public funds," he said.
Ichung'wah asked the MPs to allocate reasonable resources to support vulnerable children unable to pay fees as well as support the government's 100 transition policy to secondary schools.
Last month, MPs protested delays in the disbursement of the funds, paralysing a parliamentary retreat in Mombasa.
It took a meeting between the MPs and National Treasury officials as well as another closed door session with President William Ruto to resolve the impasse.
The legislators have been protesting that they do not have enough funds to support children from poor families through the CDF bursaries as the National Treasury is holding onto billions.
NG-CDF Board Chief Executive Committee Yusuf Mbuno last week revealed that the exchequer had so far released Sh10 billion to the constituency fund kitty.
“The Treasury made a commitment to be releasing Sh2 billion weekly, and that is the commitment we are working with, we are expecting that by 31st of March, 50 per cent of the funds should have been released” Mbuno said.
MPs, however, raised concerns that the National Treasury had remained non-committal on the pledge to disburse Sh2 billion weekly to fast track the disbursement of the funds to constituencies.