CDF is Safely Anchored in the Constitition MPs Told
By John Kariuki
Members of Parliament who are currently undergoing an induction have been reaffirmed that the National Government’s Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) is legally and Constitutionally protected.
This allays fears and misinformation that the Fund has been scrapped.
Mathioya Member of Parliament Dr. Edwin Mugo Gichuki observed
“On the second day of the induction we have among other things been brought to speed that the National Government’s Constituency Development Fund is still intact and embedded in law under the NG-CDF act of 2015.
Even the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula has assured as the significance of the CDF has been felt more than county government.
As legislators what is pertinent to us, is to see to it that the fund will be increased from 2.5% to 5% and also for the bursary kitty which heavily depends on the fund to be raised from 35% to at least 60% of the Fund.”
In a rejoinder, the NG-CDF Chief Executive Officer Yusuf Mbuno added:
“This is The clarification I made on behalf of the NG-CDF Board during a presentation in the induction workshop for the newly elected members of the National Assembly at Safari Park Hotel; That I clarified that the ruling made by the Supreme Court on 8th August 2022 was a final decision on a petition by the 2 NGOs, The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA) and the Centre for Enhancement of Good Governance and Democracy challenging the Court of Appeal decision that had overturned the 2015 High Court decision that had declared the then CDF Act of 2013 as unconstitutional.
That the Supreme Court declaration that the CDF Act 2013 was unconstitutional means that the CDF Act of 2013 became dead and buried; but the decision didn’t annull the NG-CDF as a Fund because since 20th February 2016 the Fund was operating based on the new National Government Constituencies Development (NG-CDF) Act of 2015 which haf been enacted to address all finds of the High Court affecting the Fund. Also that the NG-CDF Act of 2015 was NOT the subject in the Supreme Court decision of 8th August 2022, but the CDF Act of 2013 which is now dead and buried.”