President Ruto rallies MPs to anchor NG-CDF in law under NADCO reforms » Capital News
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 3 — President William Ruto has rallied lawmakers to fast-track the implementation of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) which seeks, among other things, to entrench the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) in law.
During the marking of the 20th anniversary for the NG-CDF, the President questioned why MPs had delayed considering eight bills which intend to anchor the recommendations of the NADCO report in the Constitution.
President Ruto challenged legislators saying the delays in anchoring NG-CDF which has been previously opposed in court will create room for litigants to invalidate the Fund.
“I gave you five aspects that I think will assist us as a country to consolidate our democracy and our development paradigm. One of them is to make CDF a constitutional provision. That way, we will stop you know, litigants from all manner of games,” he said.
NADCO committee which was co-chaired by Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwa also reached a consensus to entrench the Senate Oversight Fund, Ward Development Fund and NGCDF in the Constitution.
“NADCO report is hanging somewhere in Parliament And I don’t know what it is. It was done. Majority and Minority Leader speed up the implementation….stop taking tea in members lounge and pass this thing,” President Ruto said.
The President said NG-CDF, muted under President Mwai Kibaki, epitomizes the bottom up economic model urging MPs to use the fund as a tool to empower the local through improvement of livelihoods and job creation.
Protecting CDF
He lamented that despite rallying MPs to send proposals to the NG-CDF Board led by Olago Oluoch, only 91 of them had made attempts yet the initiative is aimed at creating employment for the youth.
“I don’t know whether Members of Parliament understand the opportunity that is available to them. I am informed that only 99 constituencies have actually made proposals for their ICT hubs. What are the other 199 doing? What is going on in their heads?” President Ruto posed.
President Ruto urged the electorate to send packing legislators who embezzle funds meant for NG-CDF insisting it was betrayal to misuse funds aimed at bridging the economic gap in the country.
“I want to say this without any fear of contradiction any MP who presides the misappropriation of CDF should never be elected because it’s the ultimate betrayal of the people who elected you,” he stated.
The President mentioned that the government intends to borrow on the NG-CDF funding model to reduce the wage bill by 35 percent by 2027.
Model to emulate
In the model, only 5 per cent of allocated funds is used to facilitate administrative functions with the rest focused on development projects.
The President said there has been significant progress in managing public wage bill, highlighting its reduction from 51 per cent to 46 per cent.
“It also provides useful guidance on the resolve to confront the monster of unnecessary expenditure in order to direct maximum resources to development. And that is why I have said by 2027 We must have reduced our recurrent expenditure from 47 per cent,” Ruto stated.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula remarked that despite court battles aimed at quashing NG-CDF, no such attempts will see the light of the day.
“CDF is here to stay. And to grow and grow, that we have now expanded it to ICT to environment and the sky’s the limit. The law is in your hands, you need to change NG- CDF to meet any other requirements in society and we will facilitate you,” Wetangula stated.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndungu assured the Sh17.9 billion in NG-CDF funds yet to be disbursed will be channeled to the kitty before the end of the financial year in June.
“Despite the global economic difficulties but the National Treasury has managed to disburse 40 billion to date and it is committed to disburse the remaining amount before the end of the financial year,” Ndungu said.
The allocation to the Fund is currently Sh53.53 billion, a 2.5 per cent minimum of national government sharable revenue.
Since 2016, NG-CDF only funds were restricted to functions exclusive to the National Government, with the bulk of the funds being channeled to the Education sector at 78.2 per cent.
Other priority areas include security at 5.7 per cent, and climate change at 1.6 per cent.
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