Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission should monitor Constituency Development Fund, says Governor Munya

Council of governors chairman Peter Munya now wants national government monitoring agencies to pay attention to management of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

Speaking in Muthara and Kianjai markets in Meru North, Munya said that the Controller of Budget, Auditor General and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) were over-concentrating on monitoring county governments’ expenditure while allowing mismanagement of CDF.

"CDF of nowadays is not the CDF of our times when Kenyans really felt the effect at the grassroots," said Munya.

He accused MPs who are patrons of the CDF of stopping to implement projects that help the people, citing renovations of primary and secondary schools as some of the projects that are no longer prioritized by the constituency development funds.

"Most counties have launched bursaries which offer full tuition fees to needy students though in Meru we are limiting that to two most needy students from each constituency," said Munya.

He also accused the CDF patrons of misusing the fund to benefit their cronies and claimed that projects undertaken five years ago are now being rebranded as having been undertaken in the current financial year.

"I built the Karachi Police Post in Tigania East while MP but was surprised to see a branding that proclaims it is a 2014/15 project. When I asked around, I was informed that only furniture had been bought recently by the CDF," claimed Munya.

He was the MP for Tigania East between 2002 and 2013.

The national assembly is set to commence a process to collect public views on how to align the CDF with the Constitution after a court ruled last year that the kitty was unconstitutional.