MPs fight to save NG-CDF as audit reveals wastage

MPs are seeking to entrench NG-CDF in the Constitution after the courts declared it unconstitutional. [File, Standard] With only one year to have the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) cease operation, legislators are rushing against time to save it. Legislatures from across the country remain steadfast in their support for the fund, arguing that it is instrumental in transforming the lives of people. The High Court declared NG-CDF unconstitutional and ordered that all its programmes, projects, and activities cease to operate at midnight on June 30, 2026. Judges Kanyi Kimondo, Aburili Ekipara, and Mugure Thande further declared the NG-CDF Act 2015, as amended in 2022 and 2023, unconstitutional. The court's declaration was not the first. In 2022, the Supreme Court held that the CDF Act violated the principle of separation of powers, deeming it unconstitutional. In September 2022, Chief Justice Martha Koome, through a recorded address to senators attending an induction trip in Naivasha, said that the fund offended the division of functions between national and county governments. Speaker Moses Wetang'ula last month assured legislators that they are in safe hands in matters of NG-CDF.The National Assembly undertook a three-day nationwide public participation consultation from Monday, May 5, 2025, to Wednesday, May 7, 2027, on the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 4 of 2025).The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution to formally establish the NG-CDF, the Senate Oversight Fund, and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF). The Bill underwent its First Reading on March 12, 2025. Eldas MP Adan Keynan last month warned that the NG-CDF is under threat. Keynan maintained that the fund did not come out of the blue but was a product of a well-calculated evaluation by the MPs who were tired of manipulation by the then Executive. Kasarani MP Ronald Karauri said that the impact of NG-CDF has been felt over the years. Wajir West MP Yussuf Farah argued that the fund has had an impact, especially in the education sector. Even with the push to defend the fund, audits have raised anomalies and wastage of the funds, raising questions about the effectiveness. The audits also reveal poor workmanship in various projects under the NG-CDF and delays in the implementation of the same. In the Financial Year 2021/2022, the Auditor General in a report on Baringo North noted that bursary payments to secondary schools and tertiary institutions totalling Sh52,800,165 were not supported by detailed schedules indicating the student's name, admission number, cheque number, amount awarded, and name of institution. This raised doubts on the regularity, accuracy, and completeness of bursary payments. In Baringo South, the audit on the 2021/2022 Financial Year revealed a non-implementation of approved projects. The report revealed that during the financial year 2021/2022, NG-CDF Baringo South Constituency had an approved project budget amount of Sh124,750,880 on seventy-eight (78) projects, out of which fourteen (14) projects with a budget amount of Sh8,050,000 had not started as at June 30, 2022. Failure to implement the projects, the auditor noted, may have negatively impacted service delivery to the public. In Baringo South in the same financial year, the report revealed irregular issuance of bursaries to secondary schools. According to the report Sh46 million was spent on bursaries to secondary schools. However, analysis of bursaries to secondary schools reflects that 11 students who shared similar admission numbers were awarded bursaries amounting to Sh63,000. In Chepalungu, Sh40 million was allocated for the construction of Siongiroi Kenya Medical Training College (KTMC) Campus at Siongiroi Health Centre, a County Government Hospital. The audit revealed there was no Memorandum of Understanding between the Fund and the County Government contravening Article 187(1) of the Constitution, which states that a function or power of government at one level may be transferred to a government at the other level by agreement between the governments. In Awendo constituency, Sh900,000 classroom has its floor worn out, an indication of poor workmanship. Similarly, a classroom constructed at Malunga Mixed Secondary School had its window panes vandalised and developed cracks on the floor.

MPs fight to save NG-CDF as audit reveals wastage

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