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Kaluma sounds warning to politicians fighting NG-CDF

Kaluma sounds warning to politicians fighting NG-CDF
Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma. PHOTO/@gpdkaluma/X

Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has warned that politicians opposing the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) risk losing the support of Kenyans who have benefited from the fund.

In a statement on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, Kaluma said several schools in the country have been built through the funds, benefiting millions of Kenyans who sometimes receive bursaries to attend school.

According to Kaluma, NG-CDF takes a measly two per cent of the national budget, hence it does not greatly affect other functions of government.

“You fight NG-CDF, you lose the support of 90% of Kenya’s population whose schools have been built through the fund and whose education has been supported by this fund that takes only 2% of the national government share of revenue directly to the people,” Kaluma stated.

Further, Kaluma says that MPs no longer control how NG-CDF funds are distributed in the constituencies as claimed by some politicians, including former cabinet secretary Justin Muturi.

“As you fight NG-CDF imagining you’re fighting MPs who no longer control it, remember that there are real people it has made; that 99% of the education infrastructure in Kenya is existent because of it; that, unlike other funds whose bulk is wasted, 94% of NG-CDF goes directly to schools to implement priorly quantified and approved projects; and, that killing NG-CDF will not send the money to counties but will only serve to centralise national government funds in the Ministries of Education and the Ministry in charge of Administration and Security for skewed use across Kenyavas before. NG-CDF is the only fund Kenyans will vote to support – the reason all efforts to change the Constitution seek to ride on it,” he added.

This comes moments after Muturi called for the abolition of the fund.

Taking to his official X account on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, Muturi, who was recently fired from President William Ruto’s Cabinet, labelled the NG-CDF as a corrupt, illegal and unconstitutional slush fund.

According to Muturi, who presided over the National Assembly as Speaker for two terms from 2023 to 2022, the NG-CDF is meant to unjustly enrich the Members of Parliament (MPs), their families and cronies.

He now says the fund should be scrapped.

“NG-CDF is a corrupt, illegal and unconstitutional slush fund to unjustly enrich the MPs, their families and cronies and should, therefore, be scrapped,” Muturi wrote on X.

Recently, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga asked the MPs to cede NG-CDF function to the counties, as they concentrate on their oversight role.

“I have also told the MPS to give CDF funds back to counties and not to MPS. MPS have no business concerning roads. The role of the members of parliaments is clearly stated: legislation, representation and oversight. How do you oversight when you yourself are actually implementing?” Raila posited.

The fund has in recent times been rocked with scandals, with Auditor General Nancy Gathungu flagging several constituencies over the misuse of the funds.

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