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"id": 85742,
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"speaker_name": "Eng. Gumbo",
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"legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support this important Motion, which has been brought to the House through my Committee on CDF. The impact of CDF in the country is not in doubt. In fact, the CDF is now really a national phenomenon. From our estimates, as a committee, we do believe that at least over 90 per cent of Kenyans both within and outside the country have heard of CDF. In one of the surveys that the board did recently, it is very encouraging to note that a fund which only came into being less than six years ago now has a high average success rate nationally. Its success rate is now well over 80 percent. This House needs to be congratulated for having brought the CDF Act, which has really changed the lives of many people in Kenya. We have places where water projects are now being implemented through the CDF. Rural electrification, hospitals, access roads have benefited from this Fund. These are areas where we, as a House, are to be commended because we have really changed the lives of Kenyans. As a committee, we are so impressed by the success rate of CDF that one of the proposals we want to bring to the Floor of this House is an amendment to increase the minimum allocation to at least five per cent. We hope it will receive fair consideration from the Ministry of Finance. Having said that, I would like to point out that one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the implementation of CDF projects is lack of absolute fidelity to the law. This is a major setback. For example, if you look at the CDF Act, it says very clearly under in Section 47(2) that the disbursement of funds to the constituencies Fund accounts shall be affected at the beginning of the first quarter of each financial year, with an initial amount equivalent to 25 per cent of the annual allocation for the constituency. Thereafter, Constituency Fund accounts shall be replenished in three equal installments at the beginning of the second, third and fourth quotas of the financial year. This is one aspect of the Act which has not been followed at all. As you realize, for example, now we are in the second quota of this financial year but no constituency has received its allocation. As has been said by my colleagues before me, I think absolute fidelity to the law is important if this important Fund, that has helped so many, Kenyans is to achieve its purpose. The other problem that I see, as somebody who is involved in the implementation of CDF projects, is that there is very little co-operation from the central Government when it comes to implementation of CDF projects. One of the biggest frustrations that we have, as a committee, is this question of very unqualified CBOs, some with absolutely no capacity to audit anything, going around and making very alarmist remarks. As a committee, we have summoned some of these CBOs. The Government must have a way of accrediting these CBOs, so that they are held accountable. We have to analyze their comments about construction of schools very critically. For example, they go to a school where there are building materials such as sand, ballast and cement, and then they say success rate is only five per cent. Based on what? So, we are asking the Government not to allow these CBOs to roam the countryside, confusing people and creating alarm about Members of Parliament, when, in fact, they do not even have the capacity. We want people with capacity to audit our projects. They can be accredited by the auditor-general to do so."
}