Politics of CDF: Governors, MPs battle to control the billions kitty

Parliament building during the Budget Highlights for FY 23/24 at the Parliament . June 15th,2023. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] The politics around the National Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) billions have lifted the lid on the complex duel between legislators, county governments and leaders in the political space. With the 20-year old Fund's future about to be dimmed, after the High Court declared it unconstitutional and directed that it be winded up by next year, wrangles between county governments and Members of Parliament persist with divergent views on how it should be run and under which tier of government it should be domiciled characterising public debate. On one end of the spectrum are MPS accused of using the NG-CDF for political mileage and undermining devolution, and on the other are governors accused of usurping the powers of the legislature by distributing bursaries. A tough-talking opposition chief, Raila Odinga, recently reignited the debate on the legality of the Fund by declaring it "unconstitutional" and accused the MPs of failing to allow resources to reach the counties. "MPs also want to do the work of county governments. CDF and Fuel Levy funds are held up there because the MPs want to build roads and schools. They have their constitutional mandates of representation, oversight and legislation. How will they oversee when they are the contractors?" posed Raila during the burial of former Kisumu West MP Ken Nyagudi. This was a double down on his stance from a day earlier when he called on MPs to relinquish NG-CDF and the Fuel levy fund, threatening to de-campaign against legislators who would not abide come 2027. "Give that CDF to the national government, but to the counties, not the MPs. On the Fuel Levy, MPs have no business concerning roads. The role of an MP is clearly stated. Those funds should go to the Counties, and if the governors mess up with them, we deal with the governors themselves. But don't tie the hands of governors, and then MPs say they have done this and that road, but the governor has done nothing. Give money to devolution and let it work properly," the former premier said during the burial of his aide, George Oduor. Former Public Service CS Justin Muturi also seemed to agree with Raila earlier this week when he took to his X platform. "NG-CDF is a corrupt, illegal and unconstitutional slush fund to unjustly enrich the MPs, their families and cronies and should, therefore, be scrapped," Muturi wrote. Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda would later concretise the duo's argument by declaring that the Courts were right in ruling the kitty unconstitutional. "CDF has a structural and constitutional problem. The infrastructure of CDF must find itself within the framework or the architecture of the Constitution," Prof Ojienda opined. "And despite the amendment MPs purported to make in 2022 and 2023, it remains, and is, unconstitutional. That is why the three-judge bench in petition No. No.128 of 2016 not only struck it down but also gave some opportunity to MPs to make it constitutional," Ojienda added during a morning TV talk show on April 17, 2025. But the MPs are fighting to retain the kitty through a new Bill, the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2025 which which seeks to amend the Constitution of Kenya to entrench NG-CDF, the Senate Oversight Fund, and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF). They are further seeking an increment of the NG-CDF allocation by Sh10 billion, from a current Sh53.5 billion to Sh63.6 billion. The MPs are banking on the NG-CDF Bill 2023 to achieve this. The lawmakers' resolve to ring-fence the kitty from the "reach" of governors was further on display on Thursday when National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula announced that the public would now have a say on whether the supreme law of the land should be altered to legitimise the Fund, largely attributed to development across the constituencies. "Article 256(2) of the Constitution requires Parliament to facilitate public discussion on any Bill that seeks to amend the Constitution. It is for this reason that we must conduct a comprehensive and meaningful public participation exercise on the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2025. In this regard, the House Business Committee, in consultation with the National Assembly General Legislative Caucus, resolved that, in addition to receiving written memoranda and engaging relevant stakeholders, the exercise be extended to all counties and constituencies to accord the majority of Kenyans an opportunity to express themselves on the Bill," said Wetang'ula in his communication to the House on Thursday. The exercise is set to be undertaken from Monday, 15 May 2025 to Wednesday, 17. But on the floor of the House, MPs disagreed with governors, accusing them of usurping the roles of Parliament.

Politics of CDF: Governors, MPs battle to control the billions kitty

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