- President told NG-CDF board to prioritise allocation to Constituencies with ICT hub programs.
- NG-CDF was marking 20 years of existence on Friday.
Image: PCS
President William Ruto has called on MPs to fast-track processing of the National Dialogue Committee report to end numerous litigations against the NG-CDF.
The head of state expressed shock that the report that is seeking to anchor the National Government Constituency Development Fund into law is still stuck in Parliament when the fund is exposed myriad litigations.
Speaking when he presided over the 20-year celebrations of the fund, the President lauded it as the best model of bottom-up transformation.
“As 13th Parliament, you have the opportunity to make sure that CDF becomes constitutional,” Ruto said.
“The Nadco report has been hanging somewhere in Parliament. I do not know at which stage the report is but is seems to be moving slowly. Speed it up.
“The report seems stuck as you are drinking tea in Parliament,” he told the parliament leadership which was represented at the meeting by the National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula
Nadco – which ended weeks of deadly street protests – was committed to the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee and Senate’s Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee on March 6.
The joint team was given 45 days to deliberate and issue recommendations on how to handle the Nadco report.
One of the recommendations in the report is the entrenchment of NG-CDF, the National Government Affirmative Action Fund and the Senate Oversight Fund.
Nadco further recommended the Ward Development Fund be established by statute.
Ruto recalled that the fund was a response to historical development disparities.
The President said the fund is a testament to the power of a people-driven development agenda and the government’s commitment to inclusive and democratic development.
“It has also become a reliable source of support for essential sectors such as education, healthcare and security,” he said.
The President also urged the NG-CDF board to prioritise disbursement of the funds to constituencies that have prioritised the ICT hubs in their programs.
This is after it emerged that only 91 out of 290 constituencies have made proposals to the board for the constituencies ICT hubs.
“So far, only 91 constituencies have made proposals for constituencies ICT hubs, the other 199 constituencies I don’t know what is going on in their minds.”
Under the programme, CDF builds the hubs while government connects fibre optics to all hubs across the country to create digital hubs.
This is aimed at ensuring young people get jobs in line with government's plan to tackle unemployment.
The President also warned MPs against misuse of the CDF millions telling Kenyans to reject leaders who are misappropriating the fund.
"Any member of parliament who presides over the misappropriation of CDF or the theft of CDF should never be elected. They should never be elected because it is the ultimate betrayal of the people who elected you," he said.
The allocation to the NG-CDF currently stands at Sh53.53 billion, which is the required minimum (2.5 per cent) of national government sharable revenue.
The bulk of NG-CDF monies are channelled to the education sector at 78.2 per cent, security at 5.7 per cent, climate change at 1.6 per cent while other projects share the remaining percentage.
The bursary funds benefit needy and deserving children from poor backgrounds.
The NG-CDF dedicates approximately Sh15 billion annually to the Bursary Scheme. On average, 1.2 million disadvantaged students benefit annually, according to NG-CDF board.
Notable achievements include the construction of 26,452 new classrooms, thereby, creating an estimated capacity for 1,190,340 students in the last five years.
NG-CDF has also established 3,087 new schools from scratch representing a substantial 26.6 per cent increase in schools built nationwide between 2003 and 2023.
The fund has also championed inclusive education by initiating 16 special needs schools nationwide.
Over the years the fund has also seen construction and renovation of national administration and security projects such as offices, chief camps, police posts, and stations.