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"content": "921 raised, some of which we have, really, delved into and discussed amongst ourselves. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have consulted but we will be happy to consult even more. However, I would like to point out that we have called the Minister for Finance, who is a very good friend of mine. We meet with him very often within Parliament Buildings and outside, but when we invite him to come to the Committee, he becomes unavailable. So, I plead that either himself or one of his assistants avails himself to our committee meetings. We even have a meeting scheduled for Friday morning. Some of these points could be ironed out. One of them is the issue raised by hon. Members of the host Ministries. We looked into this issue exhaustively, comparing the pros and cons of the same. So, I do not need to delve into it now. What we are after, and what we are advising hon. Members to agree with in the Report is that we should not have two parallel policy bodies. Let us have one policy body, which is the Select Committee, on behalf of Parliament, and the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) Secretariat. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of having the secretariat hosted by the Ministry of Finance, or by another Ministry, we would like the Ministry of Finance to come to our meeting and have the matter discussed collectively. We already have the Draft Bill, but we can agree on the issue and have it amended. Another issue I would like to comment on is the misconception by my friend, the Assistant Minister for Finance, that the NMCs are watchdogs. They are the ones who have been fighting the CDF left, right and centre. For instance, there are many constituencies which want to buy graders. There are pros and cons to consider before settling for such decision. Some constituencies may not want to buy graders for their own reasons. However, when a CDF member goes round every provincial headquarters fighting a policy like that one, we cannot go the same route with him. Another issue is the increase of the funds to the CDF. I would like hon. Members to note that in our Report, we observed with a lot of concern that at the end of the last financial year, a lot of money provided for various projects through the Budget was returned to the Treasury because the Ministries could not utilise it. At the same time, the CDF Committees utilised their money. So, not only should we increase the CDF allocation from 2.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent, but we should also put into the CDF all the money that the Ministries fail to use. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are a few other issues raised by hon. Members. One of them is the issue of frustration caused by District Development Officers (DDOs). The introduction of the CDF co-ordinator at the constituency-level is the first step of getting rid of the DDOs. We do not want the DDOs in the constituencies. They should concentrate with their work at the district level. After all, they are employees of the Ministry of Planning and National Development. Let the DDOs continue doing whatever they have been doing. In fact, the Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) should be given to the Constituency Development Committee co- ordinators, so that the problem comes to an end."
}