NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 28 – National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula has disclosed robust plans to entrench the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) which include amendments to the Constitution.
Wetangula pointed out the far-reaching implications if the fund was to cease operation and emphasized the need to also consider other options beyond the court process.
“You will recall that last year, the High Court declared the NGCDF Act unconstitutional and held that the Fund and all its projects and programmes shall cease to operate next year. This matter has certainly far-reaching implications for service delivery to our people,” Wetangula said.
The legislators are working to save the devolved fund from extinction by midnight, July 2026, after the High Court declared it unconstitutional.
Already in the workings is a Constitutional amendment bill that seeks to amend the Constitution to entrench the NGCDF, the Senate Oversight Fund, and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) in the Constitution.
The bill co co-sponsored by Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo and his Ainabkoi counterpart Samuel Chepkong’a is the latest attempt to ensure the NGCDF doesn’t stall.
Speaker Wetangula defended the constituency fund saying it has been instrumental in transforming the country through funding projects in the education and infrastructure sector.
“I shudder to imagine what would happen to the lives of many students who rely on bursaries from NGCDF to fund their education if the concept were to collapse,” the National Assembly Speaker decried.
The National Assembly Speaker revealed he has written to the Speaker of the Senate Amason Kingi to in cooperate the views of the Senators on the proposed amendment Bill with a view of sealing all loopholes on the legislative proposal.
“Hon. Members, as you all know, the process of amending the Constitution is however one that requires wide consultation, noting that Bills to amend the Constitution, once published and introduced in the House, cannot be amended,” Wetangula noted.
In a landmark ruling delivered in September 2024, a three-judge bench consisting of Judge Kanyi Kimondo, Lady Justice Mugure Thande, and Lady Justice Roselyne Aburili pointed out that the Fund led to a duplication of roles and the wastage of resources by overlapping with existing government initiatives.
“The National Government Constituency Development Fund will end all its projects, programs, and activities, which shall cease to operate at the stroke of midnight on June 30, 2026,” the judgment stated.
Wanjiru Gikonyo and Cornelius Opuot filed the case to have the NGCDF declared unconstitutional, claiming that the National Assembly had ignored the Senate when enacting the new law and designed it so that they would have control over its implementation.
The Fund was introduced in 2003 during President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure with the aim of devolving funds to finance the completion of grassroots projects.
