NAIROBI, Kenya – A five-member legal team has been tasked with crafting a lifeline for the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), which is on the brink of collapse after being declared unconstitutional.
The team, comprised of MPs Otiende Amollo (Rarieda), Tom Kajwang (Ruaraka), George Murugara (Tharaka), John Makali (Kanduyi), and Mwengi Mutuse (Kibwezi West), was selected during an informal parliamentary session last week.
The MPs mandated the team to draft legal instruments to entrench the fund in the Constitution, ensuring its continued operation.
“We will fight to the end to save NG-CDF,” said an MP who declined to be named.
Since its inception under former President Mwai Kibaki’s administration two decades ago, NG-CDF has facilitated projects worth over KSh 522.57 billion across Kenya, including schools, health facilities, and infrastructure.
However, a recent ruling by a three-judge bench comprising Justices Kanyi Kimondo, Roselyn Aburili, and Mugure Thande declared the 2015 NG-CDF Act unconstitutional, citing an overlap with county government functions.
The court gave a grace period of one year and eight months for pending projects to conclude, with the fund set to cease operations by June 2026.
The MPs’ move comes amidst sharp criticism from ODM leader Raila Odinga, who accused the National Assembly of fueling a constitutional crisis in the ongoing mediation over the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill 2024.
Addressing the press on Friday, Raila alleged that lawmakers are prioritizing NG-CDF and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) at the expense of counties.
“This is a blatant power grab disguised as a standoff over revenue sharing,” Raila said, lamenting the impasse between the National Assembly and Senate. “They want to implement and oversee projects simultaneously, an anomaly that betrays the principles of our Constitution.”
Raila further criticized MPs for leveraging the mediation talks to push for the withdrawal of a court case involving governors over the KSh 10.5 billion Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF).
The 18-member mediation committee held its second meeting last Tuesday but failed to break the deadlock.
National Assembly representatives demanded that senators convince governors to withdraw the RMLF case before any agreements on revenue sharing are reached.
As the tussle over NG-CDF and county funding intensifies, MPs are under pressure to reconcile the fund’s future with the constitutional limits outlined in the 2010 framework.
The fund, which has been amended several times since its inception, continues to polarize public opinion, with critics arguing that it undermines devolution while supporters hail it as a vital tool for grassroots development.
