Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1194231,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1194231/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 203,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Westlands, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Tim Wanyonyi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Speaker, anyone who wants to do away with the NG-CDF will be going against the interests of the people that we represent. Besides other roles of legislation, we are elected to represent the people. Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution and when we entrench this fund, it is going to be protected. It is not about us but the people we represent and the development of the nation. With this fund, we are also supplementing what the county governments are doing. These are public funds which we are using to make sure that development reaches the lowest cadre in our society. You have seen how we have transformed education and helped the chiefs who never used to have offices by building them. We have also helped the police with housing. Before the NG-CDF became so structured, it used to do more including water and other things. Right now, it has been structured and has votes that cannot be tempered with. The Member of Parliament also does not sit in the committee but only has an oversight role despite the fact that this is a constituency development fund. We do not allocate funds because there is a committee which is answerable to the NG-CDF board. Our role is to make sure that funds are utilized properly. I can attest that within my constituency we managed to do five new secondary schools which could have taken longer without the NG-CDF. We have also done so many classrooms for schools, refurbished police stations and much more. I am very sure if the allocation is increased, we can even pay more school fees for the needy children because the Ksh5,000 that we give is so little. If we can get more funds, and we identify needy students, we can support their parents by paying full school fees so that the children remain in schools. I support this. Hon. Temporary Speaker, since the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) had proposed the NG-CDF to be entrenched in the Constitution but it failed, it is not a bad idea to bring it back through this amendment. So, I support this and I am sure that by the time it will go for publication, we will have enriched it with contributions of Members from this Floor and we will have a good draft. We also want to appeal to Kenyans to support us so that we protect this fund. It is better for us to have more money at the grassroots level than at the national Government. I thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}