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The National Treasury’s communique that it would by today disburse Sh5 billion for the National Government Constituency Development Fund has demonstrated intent to keep the fund alive amid a legal storm surrounding it.
Through a letter to the National Assembly, National Treasury CS John Mbadi on Tuesday communicated that they were keen on releasing the billions and that arrears for prior financial years had been completed.
Further, he said the exchequer would from December release Sh7 billion monthly which will be disbursed to NG-CDF until June 2025.
“By Thursday December 5, 2024 he (Mbadi) will disburse Sh5 billion and thereafter disburse Sh7 billion every month until we complete June next year. From January to June 2025, it will be a disbursement of Sh7 billion every month,” stated National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula during communication to the House yesterday.
“All arrears for the financial year 2023/2024 will have been cleared when you go for recess, go and work for the people,” added the Speaker.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwa urged MPs to fast-track submission of NG-CDF project proposals to the fund board to ensure quick approval and disbursement of the monies.
“The CS National Treasury has assured he will disburse the Sh7 billion at the end of December to ensure we have adequate resources for bursaries at the beginning of January when the children are going back to school,” he said.
Buuri MP Mugambi Rindikiri however raised concern that not all disbursements had been cleared by the NG-CDF board despite prior assurances by the National Treasury.
“The Vice Chair of NG-CDF is saying all the monies even those in the last financial year have been disbursed but my funds manager is saying the monies haven’t been disbursed. I don’t who I should trust?” posed Rindikiri.
Speaker Wetang’ula was however quick to observe that that was not the situation across all the 290 constituencies and advised the lawmaker to follow up his issue with the NG-CDF board. “Your fund manager is not a yard stick for measuring what is going on. John Mbadi is a respectable Cabinet Secretary and he walked to the Speaker office to relay this information, he cannot have done that without facts,” said Wetang’ula.
Notably, the NG-CDF allocation will be for construction of Junior Secondary School classrooms and at Sh7.8 billion of the fund will construct 5,000 classes while Sh11 billion will go towards construction of 11,000 classes.
The development comes after a three-judge bench declared NG-CDF unconstitutional having violated the separation of powers. Justices Kanyi Kimondo, Mugure Thande and Roselyne Aburili also cited failure by the National Assembly to consult the Senate as grounds for the kitty’s un-constitutionalism.
They said the fund and all its projects, programmes and activities shall cease to operate on June 30, 2026. They, however, noted that it was not in the interest of the nation or justice to bring it to an abrupt closure.
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