Members of Parliament from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) have sharply disagreed with their party leader Raila Odinga after he proposed that the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) should be handed over to county governments.
The ODM lawmakers expressed strong opposition, warning that Raila’s idea would affect millions of children who depend on NG-CDF to fund bursaries, classroom construction, and other educational projects across the country.
They said the fund has helped improve school infrastructure and supported needy students for many years.
The MPs also argued that NG-CDF has helped improve security at the grassroots level by funding projects such as building police posts and other community facilities.
They insisted that the fund should not be scrapped or moved from constituencies because it has delivered real results where people need them the most.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Kitutu Masaba MP Clive Ombane Gisairo said some of the people advising Raila could be misleading him.
He stressed that their party leader’s reputation should not suffer because of poor advice from those around him. Matuga MP Kassim Tandaza backed him, saying that NG-CDF has already proven its importance to ordinary citizens and should be protected at all costs.
“Anyone against CDF should know it is here to stay. Leaders will come and go, but the fund will remain to help the people,” Tandaza said.
The MPs further emphasized that NG-CDF enjoys support from both sides of the political divide in Parliament and has remained a key instrument for reducing development inequalities at the constituency level. They vowed to strongly oppose any plans to weaken or transfer the fund to counties.
Raila, while speaking during the recent devolution conference, had argued that NG-CDF undermines the spirit of devolution and should be managed by county governments.
He said MPs should focus only on their constitutional roles of legislation, oversight, and representation—not implementing development projects.
According to him, constituency funds have become outdated in the devolved system of government and would perform better if managed by counties for improved efficiency and accountability.
Despite Raila’s reasoning, the ODM MPs insisted that NG-CDF continues to play a critical and visible role in community development and should remain under the control of Members of Parliament who understand the needs of their local areas.
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