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"id": 195940,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/195940/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Oparanya",
"speaker_title": "The Minister of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030",
"speaker": {
"id": 201,
"legal_name": "Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya",
"slug": "wycliffe-oparanya"
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"content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to take this opportunity to thank all hon. Members who have contributed to this Motion. Since we have all agreed that we need to review the Act, I hope that all your views will be taken care of, so that we improve the management and operations of the CDF at constituency level. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, all the hon. Members who contributed on this Motion have clearly indicated that they need an increase of the percentage of the fund. It is good that the Minister for Finance is here and I wish he was present earlier to listen to all your contributions. Mr. Minister, I hope through the Chair, you will consider Member's requests that the percentage be increased. However, I know that usually there are budget constraints and we have to work within them. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, many hon. Members suggested that we need reforms and we actually need them. As I indicated when I was moving the Motion, the reforms must come now. I 702 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 24, 2008 want to assure the House that I will take the responsibility of ensuring that reforms are undertaken as a matter of urgency. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of increasing administration expenses to five per cent from three per cent is an amendment that can be undertaken within the Act without necessarily affecting the percentage of the total contribution from the Exchequer. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issues of auditing and accountability, members have rightly pointed out that this is necessary. However, some Members mentioned that we should have locational audit committees. Locational committees are actually recognised in the Act. They are there. The only problem we have been having with these locational committees is the payment. This is something that should be addressed as soon as the CDF Parliamentary Committee is formed. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of having disabled on the list, unfortunately, these people that are submitted by various organisations, the Minister has no chance of meeting them before appointment. So, I do not know if they are all disabled or they are all normal human beings. That is the limit that l have. We can get, at least, four nominations from each organisation and go through their CVs. Rarely will you get a disabled individual saying that he or she is disabled in their CVs. We need to make an amendment to the Act to accommodate disabled people by including the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK) as one of the nominating organisations. I have noted that issue. On the issue of the youth, one hon. Member had time to go through the CVs of the proposed names of the Board members. I tabled the CVs here yesterday. It has been noted that about five members of the Board are below 40 years. On the issue of the DDOs being posted to the new districts, I am happy to report that my Ministry, through the Public Service Commission (PSC), has recruited a one hundred Economists. Currently, they are undergoing an induction course. Soon, they will be posted to the districts as DDOs. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, hon. Members have mentioned the issue of the Constituency Development Committee (CDC) members being unable to move around to visit various projects. Through the 2007 amendment, we have allowed committees to purchase vehicles. It is important that when you are making proposals for the next financial year, which should be submitted as soon as possible, make a provision, so that you make sure you have a vehicle to assist your committee members to move around to visit various projects. Since we will have a CDF parliamentary committee, we can have a scheme where we purchase vehicles, so that we enjoy a fleet discount. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of improving the allowances of the committee members, this has to be looked into within the 3 per cent limit. It is important that we increase the administration allocation by at least 5 per cent, so that we can also at the same time increase allowances of the committee members. I also feel that Kshs2,500 per sitting is not adequate for people who are managing millions of shillings. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the issue of account managers has been a major problem. In fact, in my constituency when one of the accounts manager was posted there, there were a number of days I visited the constituency and I could not get him. When I asked him where he had been, he told me: \"You are not my boss, so I have no obligation to report to you.\" I asked him: \"Where is your boss?\" He said: \"My boss is in Nairobi.\" It is now unfortunate that I am now the Minister. I do not know if he will still say that his boss is in Nairobi. Accounts managers behave as if they are the ones who are supposed to manage the CDF at the constituency level. This issue was raised last year and the Minister for Finance corrected the impression that these people are just book keepers at the constituency level. As soon as we have a new Board, we shall make sure that the accounts managers undergo intensive training to know what they are April 24, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 703 supposed to do. This will include the DDOs and the Accountants. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of the bursary ceiling, that is up to the hon. Members. We can bring an amendment to review that ceiling. Hon. Members feel that the limit of 15 per cent is not adequate. But hon. Members should also note that we also have constituency bursaries through the Ministry of Education. On the issue of audit reports, I agree that when the auditors come from Nairobi to carry out audits at the constituencies, they behave as if they are special people; as if they are kings. They do not even want to talk to the hon. Member of the area and the committee members yet these are the people who are being audited. We shall have to clearly clarify that when an audit is done, it is important that the committee members meet the auditors to discuss the audit report and make sure that the committee members give comments for each of the issues raised in the report. On the issue of appointing the chairperson of the Board, the Act provides that he or she shall be appointed by the Minister. Actually, there was no need for me to bring the name of the chairperson here for approval. The Act limits the Minister to appoint the chairperson within the first eight names, from the names submitted by the various organisations. I have not had a chance to meet those eight nominated members. We want to appoint a chairperson who is competent. It is important that we meet these people, so that we can know who to appoint as the chairperson. I want to assure hon. Members that I will appoint a very competent individual. The CDF has been very instrumental to the development of the rural areas. There are other devolved funds like the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF). But we cannot compare the way the LATF is managed to the CDF. Sometimes, as hon. Members have noted here, journalists and other interested parties have been focusing on the CDF forgetting that we also have the LATF. We also have money for the construction of roads that goes to the constituencies via the Ministry of Roads. We had suggested that this money goes through the CDF. Unfortunately, there was an amendment, it could not go through. This is an issue that needs to be looked into. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, some hon. Members raised the issue of bursary committee members being paid an allowance. I know that these people work very hard and for long hours, but they are not paid anything. May be hon. Members can borrow an example of what I do in my constituency. Instead of forming a separate bursary committee for the CDF, I use the Ministry of Education bursary committee. We forward a cheque to that committee, so that they are able to disburse the CDF bursary funds. That way you will be paid in accordance with Ministry of Education guidelines. I can see that there is little time left. Therefore, I beg to move."
}