MPs urge Treasury to release Sh11bn CDF cash

MPs want The Treasury to release Sh11 billion to complete pending Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects in their constituencies with just 24 days remaining to the expiry of their five-year term.

The worry of MPs is that, if the money under the CDF is not released now, and some of them lose their seats in the March polls, then, their successors will ignore the ongoing projects.

They said they had asked that the money be disbursed by September for them to have sufficient time to conclude the projects that were to be executed within this financial year. The Treasury ignored the request, because, by law, it is supposed to release half the money, half-way through the financial year.

The chairman of the House Committee on CDF Ekwee Ethuro said the minister ought to disburse the money. The reasoning is that if it not done now, the money may stay unused given that the remaining half of the financial year –from January 1 to June 30, 2013—will be spent on political activities to do with elections, and settling in the new MPs.

“The CDF allocation for the current financial year is 21.7 billion, as per now, unless he sneaked something this morning, he had only released Sh10 billion. That is less than 50 per cent… He owes us a small favour, that in the remaining period, we want our money so that we complete the remaining projects. This House agreed that by September 30, the money should have been disbursed,” Mr Ethuro said in Parliament Wednesday.

Jakoyo Midiwo (Gem) asked Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim to weigh in and force Mr Githae to disburse the money.

“I request you to prevail upon the good minister to ensure the money is disbursed. In all fairness to this nation, The Treasury is not a personal property of anybody. Our people depend on this funding,” said Mr Midiwo.

Dr Boni Khalwale (Ikolomani) complained that though half the money had been disbursed, his constituency, Ikolomani, had only received 15 per cent of the amount due to them in the current financial year.

He said that with change in government after the polls, and the expected election of new MPs, the projects might never see the light of day.

“There’s a very big risks that some projects will stall, because of lack of goodwill from the person who will succeed the MPs,” said Dr Khalwale, who is eyeing the Kakamega County senatorial seat.

However, the Finance minister rejected the calls to disburse the money. He said that as per the law, he had already met the quota for half the amount, by the time, the financial year is half-way.

“If you follow the law, we have disbursed all the required CDF Funds as at December 31, 2012. We have fulfilled the law, and I have the facts,” said Mr Githae.