MPs are fighting a losing battle; they've no business managing illegal CDF

Parliament during a past session. [File, Standard]

Whenever poverty in Africa is depicted to seek charity from well-wishers, a child with a torn t-shirt, emaciated, with a running nose, and in a makeshift house is displayed for sympathy. On the flip-side are MPs driving luxury cars, visiting private hospitals, and sending their children to top private or international schools, all funded by taxpayers.

MPs role should be to ensure that every child has access to quality education, healthcare, and a promising future. However, this is not the case with our lawmakers. The National Assembly has been fighting to retain the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), later renamed the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), claiming they need it to address their constituents’ problems.

The core issue is that leadership and politics in Kenya have been about the benevolence of individuals rather than establishing effective structures. This is why an MP might claim that a poor child cannot attend school because Treasury has not released Sh69 billion for them to allocate.

In a functional government that prioritises equality and prosperity for all, this should not be the case. To understand why MPs should not control the CDF, let’s dissect the functions of the government.

The government has three arms: The Executive, Parliament, and the Judiciary. The Executive is responsible for development, which is why a president presents a manifesto outlining their plans. Parliament, comprising the National Assembly and the Senate, is tasked with budget processing, oversight, and legislation. The Judiciary interprets laws.

Additionally, there is a devolved system of government with 47 counties responsible for grassroots development. If MPs were honest, they would admit that the Constitution does not mandate them to carry out development in either the devolved units or national government.

When campaigning, MPs do not promise to build a specific number of schools or roads, nor do they commit to enrolling a certain number of children in bursary schemes. Their role and involvement in CDF is ambiguous and anchored in charity rather than systemic solutions.

Kenyans need functional systems, not the benevolence of individuals. For instance, the Education ministry should ensure quality education for all, with teachers as the grassroots agents. Counties manage Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) institutions, with ECDE teachers as the primary agents. Parliament was never envisioned to manage schools in constituencies or have officers in schools.

Teachers are more knowledgeable about the needs of schools and which children are not attending school because of fees. They are best placed to provide credible information on school fees and necessary developments. If a child is missing school due to lack of fees, MPs should legislate for free education and oversee the ministry to ensure 100 per cent enrollment and a decent environment for all children.

After 20 years of CDF, praising it as an alternative to development excuses the failures of the Executive. Despite the benefits claimed from the fund, MPs have all along been doing work not meant for them and dangling charity to continue with an illegality. In addition, we cannot sanitise the widespread misuse and lack of targeted use of the fund from the start.

For efficiency and prudent use of taxpayers’ money, an MP or anyone linked to him or her should not handle money either for development or bursaries. A change of name and functions of CDF does not make it legal or fulfill the aspirations of the drafters of the Constitution.

Mr Kamau is a senior reporter, Standard Group PLC