CDF is dead! Long live NG-CDF, says boss Mbuno

National Government- Constitutional Development Fund (NG-CDF) board has clarified that the fund is still operational despite a Supreme Court ruling declaring the original CDF as illegal.

Chief Executive Yusuf Mbuno said the apex court never termed the current NG-CDF as unconstitutional but instead ruled on the 2013 Act, which initially formed CDF.

In its verdict, the court found that the 2013 law allowing MPs to manage funds offends division of revenue and public finance law.

 Mbuno said the fund has been operating under the NG-CDF that was formed in 2015 following a High Court ruling that gave the government up to 12 months to amend the 2013 Act.

“The Supreme Court never termed NG-CDF as unconstitutional. What happened is that there was a pending matter in court in 2015, when the High Court pronounced itself on the CDF Act of 2013 as unconstitutional. The court gave the government a period of 12 months to correct the anomaly, which was done through the enactment of NG-CDF, which is the Act we are operating on,” said Mbuno.

Mbuno said that under the 2015 Act, Parliament allocated Sh44 billion to the NG-CDF kitty for the 2022/2023 financial year.

He added that this year, the funds have increased from Sh41.7 billion to Sh44 billion to cater for much-required infrastructure needs.

 Mbuno’s sentiments come just days after MPs-elect, during a two-day orientation session at Parliament Buildings last week, said they would prioritise the revival of the fund.

They said they would call for talks with the Executive to discuss ways to retain NG-CDF.

Legislators who spoke on the issue include Farah Maalim (Dadaab), Jane Maina (Kirinyaga Woman Rept), Mohamed Ali (Nyali)and Murumba Chikati (Tongaren).

 dispelled fears that the fund had been disbanded following a Supreme Court ruling.

“What the court did is to suspend the 2013 CDF Act, but the NGCDF, which was established by the 2015 Act, is still active,” Maalim said.

 Kirinyaga Woman Representative-elect Jane Njeri Maina said it would be difficult for MPs to operate without NGCDF, adding that the legislators would prioritise its reinstatement.

Nyali MP Mohamed Ali said the thirteenth Parliament would have no option but to defend the fund, adding that as legislators, they have suffered the same situation in the past but have never failed to protect the kitty.

  “The fund focuses on projects that touch directly on the people; projects that neither the national nor county governments can implement effectively,” he said.

“I am hoping that we won’t find a situation where we lose the fund; because it is crucial to people at constituency levels,” explained the MP, now on his third term.

Tongaren MP-elect Murumba Chikati defended the role of legislators in the management of the Fund, saying this role was reduced to oversight as opposed to management.

In proscribing the fund, both the High Court and the Supreme Court cited the doctrine of separation of powers, saying MPs cannot implement projects and programmes yet still play oversight roles as detailed in the Constitution.

Legislators have previously used the kitty for community development projects

The CDF kitty was first introduced in 2003 by the government. It has seen

billions of shillings channelled to constituencies to achieve equitable development and rectify economic imbalances in Kenya.