MPs question Raila's motive as they fight to save NG-CDF

ODM leader Raila Odinga during a meeting in Migori on February 27, 2025. (Caleb Kingwara, Standard) The call by ODM leader Raila Odinga for the abolishing of National Government Constituency Fund (NG-CDF) claiming MPs have been overstepping their roles has attracted fierce criticism. On Tuesday Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse told off Mr Odinga accusing him of double speak. He said that Odinga had proposed for entrenchment of NG-CDF into the constitution during the National Dialogue Committee report (NADCO) which President William Ruto and Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka were part of. NADCO had been produced under the facilitation of President Ruto and opposition leader Odinga necessitated by protests that emerged in 2023 due to the cost of living hence a political reconciliation. The committee would then be formed to find solutions to issues through constitutional frameworks. "Raila Odinga had instructed for the passing of all NADCO bills without even removing a coma. One of the issues in that report was NG-CDF, the Senate Oversight Fund and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) to be anchored into law," Mutuse said. He added: "That report has signatures of Raila Odinga, President Ruto and Kalonzo Musyoka. So what we are doing is a bipartisan process." Mutuse was addressing hundreds of his constituents during a public participation forum on entrenchment of NG-CDF into the constitution at Makindu township The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No. 4 of 2025) is seeking to amend the constitution to establish three funds. These are, The National Government Constituencies Fund (NG-CF) for the purposes of ensuring the provision of exclusive national government function at the constituency levels, the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) and the Senate Oversight Fund (SOF) for senators to have financial muscles to watch over governors. At Makindu township where hundreds of locals had turned up to give their views, all the speakers supported the amendment. "For the past 21 years we have seen communities benefit out of this fund. What we can celebrate now as two successes in our country is introduction of NG-CDF and devolution. After elections we have seen people even those who lie in the opposition side retreat to their backyards, do development to the people without escalation of wars due to pressure from limited resources," Mzee Noah Abubakar said. Stella Kisele, 65, observes that roles of the NG-CDF are different from those of the devolved units: "NG-CDF deals with primary and secondary schools, security and climate change issues in which some of these roles don't lie on the mandates of governors. Let counties effectively utilise what they have been allocated because we have seen governors misuse the little fund they get from the national government. Reports have been flying all over with counties flagged by the auditor general on misappropriation of funds," said Kisele. Mutuse said that failure to fix the three funds into the constitution was a recipe for setting a bad stage where future leaders might use the funds to punish those on the opposition side. "You heard some leaders say government is like a company, it is a shareholding where it belongs to few people. With such utterances like this it means we need to create a path into ensuring all voiceless Kenyans can benefit from this fund even outside government strongholds," Mutuse added Bonventure Ndolo on his bid called for the increase of the fund. A similar exercise happened at Makueni constituency offices and NGAAF offices where residents endorsed the process. "The 13th parliament is seeking to end future court cases over these funds. I don't know what exactly my people have written in their papers into this amendment but what they have said in open discussion is that NG-CDF has reached to the lowest levels in the villages and helped people," said Susan Kiamba, MP Makueni constituency. Rose Museo, Makueni County Woman Rep who drummed for NGAAF's existence termed it as the peoples' fund that had transformed the lives of the vulnerable groups in the society. Owiti Oyiro, a village manager from Kangesu, Kibwezi West said, "The future is unwelcoming when we have the three funds not enshrined in the constitution. If all Kenyans had a chance of entering the parliament we would even pass for additional funding because the cost of living continues to balloon with stagnant funding," Views of the members of the public by national assembly on whether the three funds should remain operational, abolished, or altered will be collected for a period of one week. Kenyans who will not have a chance to attend the forums are encouraged to submit written memoranda expressing their views on the changes if any.

MPs question Raila's motive as they fight to save NG-CDF

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