Population to inform NG-CDF Allocation in new law
Githunguri member of parliament Gathoni wa Muchomba is seeking to bring the factor of population as the key element that should inform NG-CDF Allocation.
Gathoni Wamuchomba is seeking to amend the National Government Constituencies Development Fund Bill 2023 to factor in the population of a constituency so that the highly populated constituencies may get more funds.
According to the Bill by Wamuchomba, the formula of allocation should rely on population, not the number of wards of a certain constituency.
Gathoni has sponsored the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2023, is ready to prove that densely populated constituencies are disadvantaged by the current formula.
“The Committee may propose other parameters that may be included in the formula for allocating funds to constituencies such as infrastructure, land size and poverty index,” Gathoni shared her views to the the Budget and Appropriations Committee.
The NG-CDF distribution formula has undergone several amendments since inception in 2003 to address perceived imbalances and inclusive growth.
The fund comprises an annual budgetary allocation of at least 2.5 per cent of the National Government’s share of revenues.
Currently, 75 per cent of the allocation to NG-CDF is shared equally among all the 290 constituencies.
The remaining 25 per cent is shared based on the number of wards in each constituency.
There are a total of 1,450 wards in the country. Twenty-one constituencies have three wards each, which is the least number of wards in a constituency.
Seven constituencies have eight wards, which is the highest number of wards in a constituency. The majority of constituencies (a total of 106) have five wards.
Budget and Appropriations Committee chairman who is also the Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro hailed the Bill for considering the population in the distribution of the 25 per of NG-CDF allocation.
“We have to give a lot of weight to people. Thirty-five per cent of NG-CDF goes to bursaries and these are people, not projects,” he stated.
He said the current formula short-changes areas that are densely populated.
In the 2023-24 Financial Year, Sh50.85 billion will be allocated to all the 290 constituencies which are inclusive of Sh2.68 billion set aside for a 5 per cent emergency reserve and shareable allocation of Sh48.18 billion.
Seventy-five per cent of the total will be divided equally (Sh36.13 billion) with each constituency receiving Sh124.6 million.
The remaining 25 per cent (Sh12.04 billion) will be shared by all 1,450 wards, each getting Sh8.31 million.
The main purpose of the Fund is to enhance infrastructural and socio-economic development at the grassroots level.
NG-CDF, formerly Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), was established under the NG-CDF Act 2015, as amended in 2016.
The Act is a successor to the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) Act of 2003 which initiated the Fund and its subsequent amendments/reviews of 2007 and 2013.
NG-CDF board is headed by the Chief Executive Yusuf Mbuno.
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