150 MPs back petition for more CDF cash

National Assembly speaker Justin Muturi is set to approve a petition seeking to increase the annual allocation of money to the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) from the current 2.5 per cent to 10 per cent of the total audited revenue raised by the national government.

This follows submission to him of a list signed by 150 MPs seeking to amend the law governing the devolved fund.

Lugari MP Ayub Savula, who sponsored the petition, on Thursday told the Business Daily that he had submitted for the Speaker’s approval the documentation required to get the petition — seeking to amend the Constitution — to the floor of the House.

“Once the Speaker grants his approval, we will call MPs to draft the Bill for debate and approval through a parliamentary initiative,” Mr Savula said.

“As governors pursue the quest to have 45 per cent of the national revenue allocated to counties through a referendum, we will be presenting our case for 10 per cent on the floor of the House.”

The law requires an MP seeking to file a petition to amend the Constitution through the parliamentary initiative to secure the support of at least a quarter of members (88 MPs) before submitting the petition to the Speaker for approval.

Such a Bill must, however, be supported by two-thirds majority of MPs (233) to become law. The National Assembly has 349 members.

If the Bill gets the required support and is passed, MPs will take control of at least Sh100 billion annually — based on this year’s revenue collection target of Sh1.05 trillion.

The Treasury has in the current financial year allocated Sh33 billion to the CDF, meaning Mr Savula’s Bill, if passed, will more than triple the amount.

READ: MPs set Sh100m CDF cash target for every constituency

Out of the total Sh33 billion, Sh31.56 billion is to be shared among the 290 constituencies while Sh1.64 billion is to run the CDF board and the secretariat.

Mr Savula early this month announced that he had notified the Speaker of his intention to amend the Constitution to entrench 10 per cent as bare minimum allocation to the CDF.

The CDF Act stipulates that 2.5 per cent of the total annual audited revenue be allocated to the 290 constituencies.

But getting the amount to 10 per cent requires a constitutional amendment because the fund is not recognised in the Constitution, which only refers to the sharing of revenue between the national and county governments.

Mr Savula is also proposing that should MPs raise the allocations to 10 per cent, then total allocations to the CDF be split equally for wards within the constituencies. There are 1,450 wards countrywide.

A number of MPs are supporting the initiative, arguing that it is the best way to take money to the grassroots.

“This is a very good proposal which we as MPs are all in agreement with. I have signed the petition to ensure that more money is channelled to the grassroots through the CDF framework. You have seen the wonders CDF has done,” Chris Omulele, the Luanda MP, said.

Mr Savula’s petition comes only two days after MPs amended the Constitution to have the Sh3.4 billion or 0.5 per cent of the total revenue Equalisation Fund channelled to the constituencies instead of county governments.

Article 204 of the Constitution establishes the Equalisation Fund for use by the national government to provide services, including water, roads, health facilities and electricity to marginalised areas to the extent necessary to bring the quality of access to those services.

Through a constitutional Bill sponsored by Samburu West MP Lati Lelelit, constituencies in the 14 counties that the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) identified as marginalised will share the Equalisation Fund.

The Constitution is not specific as to the framework that the national government should use to administer the equalisation funds, an issue that Mr Lelelit sought to fix in his Bill currently in the final stage of parliamentary debate before its assented to by President Kenyatta.

Thursday, Mr Savula maintained that his Bill is not meant to undermine the referendum push being spearheaded by the Council of Governors and the Opposition Cord.

The opposition coalition and the governors are pushing for a referendum to raise county allocations from the current 15 per cent to 45 per cent of the audited national revenue.