MPs summon Treasury CS Mbadi for failing to release CDF funds two weeks to school reopening
The session saw the MPs suspending all other businesses and threatening to boycott the sitting in protest over the delays.
Members of Parliament have summoned Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to appear before the House on Wednesday for failing to release the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), two weeks to the reopening of schools.
In a session on Tuesday, the legislators accused Mbadi of failing to honour a promise he made to disburse the funds in time.
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They decried that despite assurances that the money would be released in phases, only a quarter had been disbursed so far.
The session saw the MPs suspending all other businesses and threatening to boycott the sitting in protest over the delays, which are crucial in facilitating bursaries for learners across the country.
Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu, who led the protest, criticised the Treasury’s handling of the funds.
“This is the worst year of release of NGCDF resources, and we claim to have experts who came from this House. How I wish that the Chair Budget or Majority Leader would be able to see it so that the money can be wired today before [the CS] comes tomorrow,” Mulu said.
Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen added, “The concern of all of us this afternoon is about CDF. We have less than 10 days before the schools reopen. The kids are going to go back without bursaries, and the CS has not kept his word. He told us he was going to release money every week. Up to now, they’ve only released a quarter of it. So we are saying this afternoon, order number one is the CDF and NGAAF.”
Laikipia North MP Sarah Korere cautioned that Mbadi should ensure the funds are disbursed before appearing before the House.
She lamented that the funds are essential to sustaining development at the grassroots level, especially in education and infrastructure.
“I want the CS to hear this — now that you’ve promised he’s coming here tomorrow, he’d rather come here after he’s disbursed the monies to our accounts and come here with whatever evidence to show that the money has gone there, failure to which we’ll hold him here until that is done,” Korere said.
Attempts by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula to steer the House back to the day’s order of business were met with loud objections from MPs. It took interventions from both Majority and Minority leaders to calm the tension.
“CDF is at the centrality of the management of constituencies. It’s here to stay, and nobody will wish it away. We will ensure at all times the Treasury puts CDF on the priority list of their exchequer releases,” Wetang’ula assured the House.
Accountability
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah urged MPs to show up in full force for Wednesday’s session, saying CS Mbadi must be held accountable for the promises he made to Parliament.
“Two months to the end of financial year, they should have disbursed all the money that should be going to NGCDF. This is a time to hold the Cabinet Secretary to account for his words because it’s him who committed that we will get disbursement every month to ensure that by the end of June we have all our money disbursed. Therefore, whatever magic he will do between now and June 30, 100 per cent of NGCDF must be disbursed,” Ichung’wah said.
He also defended the role of the fund in community development, comparing it favourably to national and county government projects.
“I have seen the national government now priding itself in having built over 14,000 classrooms over the last year, but the amount of classrooms NGCDF does around the country in a year is probably triple that number,” he said.
Minority Leader Junet Mohammed criticised the fund’s opponents, saying most of them lack proper information on how it functions.
“This CDF fund has a lot of enemies for no apparent reason. There are many people who are fighting the CDF because they don’t have the right information about it. Kenyans must take stock of what has happened through devolution from inception because CDF funds have the least administrative expenditure — unlike counties where they spend all their money in the recurrent expenditure,” Junet said.
The MPs vowed to hold firm until the funds are released in full, warning that any further delays would derail critical development programmes in their constituencies.
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