Team says new-look CDF kitty here to stay

“CDF is here to stay!”

These are the words of MP Moses Lessonet, who chairs the Select Committee on the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NGCDF), as he spoke during the launch of the NGCDF five-year strategic plan at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Lessonet said CDF, which has now been transformed into NGCDF after its constitutionality was challenged in court, has transformed lives and fostered development in the existing constituencies since inception in 2003.

“What is unconstitutional about CDF helping the people?” he opined.

The Eldama Ravine Legislator has also revealed that the constituency fund, to be channeled through the national government, now plans to pay hospital insurance fees for vulnerable individuals and will soon sign a MoU with the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) over the remittance of the monies.

Lessonet says NGCDF will raise its financial allocation for improvement of education from 25 to 35 per cent to help more than 500 people per constituency and also chip in to help schools hire and pay teachers on contract.

Planning and Statistics Principal Secretary, Saitoti Torome, in a statement read on behalf of Devolution Cabinet Secretary, Mwangi Kiunjuri, said CDF had funded more than 231,000 projects in constituencies, more than half being in the education sector, since inception.

“We have suffered a lot of litigation but NGCDF is here to stay,” said former Maragwa MP, Elias Mbau, who now heads the fund board, even as he admitted the court cases filed by civil societies challenging the legality of the fund have affected its normal operations.

Acting NGCDF CEO, Yusuf Mbuno, has lauded the strategic plan saying it will help the fund streamline its services and focus better on crucial areas.

The NGCDF succeeded the CDF after it was declared unconstitutional by the High Court, with the lobby groups that filed the case arguing the monies should be channeled through county governments.