ODM party leader Raila Odinga has renewed his concerns over the management of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), urging Members of Parliament to surrender it to counties.
Odinga, who was speaking during the 42nd Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) Annual Conference on Tuesday, maintained that lawmakers are only entitled to legislative duties, representation, and oversight.
“CDF is about 2.5% of the total budget. 2.5% is substantial because it would increase the allocation to counties from 15% to 17.5%. CDF should be the responsibility of county governments. Members of Parliament are supposed to do three things: representation, legislation, and oversight,” Raila said.
He further dismissed the ongoing public participation being conducted by Members of Parliament to collect views on the amendment of the NG-CDF Act 2015, asserting that it will inevitably proceed to a referendum, where the lawmakers are likely to lose.
“Do all the public participation you want. Ultimately, you must go to a referendum, and you will lose. It’s not that we don’t want bursaries—they’ll be there, but distributed by the county government,” he noted.
Odinga, who signed a broad-based pact with the Kenya Kwanza government that saw some ODM leaders incorporated into the Ruto Cabinet, called for tolerance as ODM experts deliver their professional input.
“You’ll see, for example, this housing levy you are paying is going to be converted into an investment, so that if you don’t get a house, you’ll be entitled to a refund in the future. So please give ODM time to show you how we can do it,” said Odinga.
