MPs threaten to disrupt budget speech over allocation of NG-CDF funds

Members of the National Assembly are threatening to paralyse House proceedings on Thursday during budget statement presentation over the delayed release of the National Government Constituency Development Funds (NG-CDF).

In March this year, National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani had promised to release at least Ksh. 2 billion  every week until the end of the financial year 2020/2021.

According to the MPs the pledge  has not been met.

Early in March this year, the lawmakers were engaged in a showdown with the treasury, vowing to shoot down government sponsored motions if treasury failed to disburse the funds.

But three months down the line and with less than two days before the CS presents his budget statement for the financial year 2021/2022, the legislators are breathing fire.

According to the MPs, NGCDF monies are used to fund various projects in the constituencies. One of the being education bursaries to students who come from needy backgrounds.

The MPs say schools where some of these students learn can no longer tolerate the delay.

They have now vowed to disrupt Yatani’s Thursday budget speech until the funds are disbursed.

Before the current stand-off, members of the Budget and Appropriation Committee spent several sittings in March trying to hammer out a deal with Treasury by pushing for a Sh13.5 billion allocation in the supplementary budget to clear NG-CDF arrears for the last financial year.

The Treasury is said to have given in to some demands by the MPs in a submission to the team chaired by Kieni MP Kanini Kega.

It also emerged that the 290 constituencies had received an average of Sh20 million out of the Sh137 million for this financial year. The MPs now say disbursement of CDF funds is not a favour from Government to constituencies.

And just as they threatened in March, the legislators have vowed to not only disrupt the budget speech, but also decline to discuss and pass motions tabled in parliament beginning Thursday.