Constituencies to get Sh7m each in new grassroots fund

Special interest groups will for the first time access the Sh2.03 billion fund negotiated for by the 47 woman representatives that will be distributed in the constituencies.

Each constituency will get Sh7 million, separate from the Constituency Development Fund.

The constituency fund was allocated Sh35.2 billion in the coming financial year, with Sh31.7 billion of it to be shared between the 290 constituencies.

Constituency fund committee chairman Moses Lessonet was on Friday emphatic that the Sh7 million per constituency was separate and will in future be managed by the national government. “The women will have their own board, their own chief executive to manage that small fund,” said Mr Lessonet.

The money had been lumped together with the rest of the CDF funds, creating the impression that the woman representatives had lost control of it.

It was not clear why the ministry lumped the money with the Constituency Development Fund when there is a separate management system for it. It was signed by Devolution and Planning Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti.

“[Mr Mangit] was just informing the House so that MPs can tell their constituents seven million is available,” Mr Lessonet said at a press conference at Parliament.

LARGEST ALLOCATIONS

The rules on how the money negotiated for by the woman representatives would be managed have been approved by the assembly’s committee on delegated legislation.

According to the regulations by the Treasury, the management of the funds will be carried out at the counties.

Subsidiary management would be in the constituencies, said committee vice-chairman Kirinyaga Central MP Joseph Gitari.

“Distribution is that every county Woman Rep oversees a development in every constituency. Part of the money is for bursaries and there was also money for a project cutting across the county. I don’t know how it landed in the CDF,” said Mr Gitari.

In the document tabled by Mr Lessonet, the constituencies with the largest allocations are: Mandera South (Sh194 million), Turkana West (Sh180 million), Kinango (Sh170 million), Magarini (Sh158 million), Mandera North (Sh157 million), Mandera West (Sh153 million), Makueni (Sh152 million), Banissa (Sh152 million), Turkana North (Sh150 million) and Lafey (Sh149 million).

Those getting the lowest allocations are: Lamu East (Sh90 million), Embakasi West (Sh91 million), Makadara (Sh92 million), Embakasi Central (Sh92 million), Embakasi East (Sh93 million), Starehe (Sh93 million), Kisumu Central (Sh94 million), Nakuru Town West (Sh94 million), Langata (Sh94 million) and Nyeri Town (Sh94 million).

MPs have been given by the High Court a 12-month deadline to align the CDF with the Constitution.

The CDF board has appealed against the judges’ ruling, but the order on 12 months has not been stayed so the clock continues to tick to the deadline for the MPs. Among the requests in their appeal is that more time be given for the review of the law.

With their appeal, on which a hearing date could be set in court, the board, currently chaired by former Maragua MP Elias Mbau, has started public hearings to get public views on the CDF.