NG-CDF board wants changes in cash sharing formula
NG-CDF director George Ole Meshuko (left) and North Horr MP Chachu Ganya (second right) listening to an instructor at North Horr Technical and Vocational College.
The National Government Constituency Development Funds (NG-CDF) board has proposed changes to the cash distribution formula aimed at improving the basis of sharing the fund and closing the poverty gap index among constituencies.
In their submission to the National Assembly’s Select Committee on the NG-CDF, the board wants the allocation of funds per constituency to be varied in terms of needs and levels of poverty.
NG-CDF director George ole Meshuko said the proposal which borrows from allocation of funds to the 47 counties intends to end the current system where all the 290 constituencies get a flat rate of Sh137 million per year.
“If adopted by Members of Parliament, constituencies will get varying amounts based on a range of parameters such as population size, land area, health care and roads, among others,” he said.
Marginalised areas
Mr Meshuko, while reiterating that the kitty has transformed the marginalised areas, underlined the need to explore a number of variables to ensure meaningful transformation of vulnerable communities.
Despite having achieved a number of milestones, North Horr MP Chachu Ganya pointed out that the long distance, poor roads and the vast nature of the constituency is posing unique challenges that are pushing up the cost of project implementation.
As the biggest constituency in the country that occupies 38,952 square kilometres, he said, the cost of transporting building materials is way higher compared to urban constituencies like Starehe or Westlands.
“North Horr constituency is much bigger than the entire Nyanza, Central, Western and Nairobi provinces all lumped together,” said Mr Ganya.
As a way of addressing education among young children, North Horr CDF kitty has established eight feeder schools to serve remote nomadic settlements.
“The feeder schools take care of children up to Class 4 before they join the mainstream schools which have all the necessary infrastructure up to Class 8,” said the North Horr legislator.
To promote girl child education, curb female genital mutilation and early marriages, the CDF has also established girls’ primary schools in every ward.
“Other than providing formal education, the learning institutions act as rescue centres and have highly cut down on negative cultural practices that hinder girl child from going to school,” said Maria Lekoloto, a director at NG-CDF.
Enhance security
To enhance security in the area that shares an expansive porous border with Ethiopia and Somalia, Marsabit County-based constituencies have also invested their CDF allocations in setting up security-related projects such as police stations and police posts.
Tongaren MP Eseli Simiyu who sponsored the National Government Development Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2019 also proposed that three quarters of the CDF cash be divided equally among all constituencies and an amount equal to a quarter divided by the national poverty index multiplied by the constituency poverty index.
Dr Simiyu argued that the equal share as stipulated in the NG-CDF Act, 2015 is unconstitutional and that constituencies vary in terms of needs and levels of poverty, most of them being below the poverty line.
NG-CDF is meant to support projects under the functions of the national government. This includes schools and security-related projects such as police stations and police posts, as well as education bursaries.
The CDF has been popular with MPs as they use taxpayer funds to initiate development projects at the constituency level to endear themselves to voters.
