Kioni: NG-CDF won’t return unless governance structure changes
Jubilee Party Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni has said that the revival of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) under the current governance framework is unlikely, citing a structural conflict of interest involving Members of Parliament (MPs).
Speaking in an interview on a local radio station on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, Kioni argued that MPs have been sidelined from key functions such as boundary delimitation due to the potential for self-serving decisions.
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He linked this to the broader issue of the CDF, suggesting that unless Kenya rethinks how power and responsibilities are distributed within government, the return of the fund in its traditional form is improbable.
“Unless you change the form of governance, you will not get CDF with Members of Parliament. As it stands today, MPs have no role in the delimitation of boundaries. Yet, all those sitting in Parliament will claim they do, but that mandate was denied to them because it was clear they would act in their own interests if given the power,” he said.
The NG-CDF has long been a source of tension between the legislature and the judiciary. In 2023, the Supreme Court declared aspects of the fund unconstitutional, citing concerns over separation of powers and executive overreach by legislators.
Kioni acknowledged these concerns while highlighting a deeper governance dilemma, one that he believes undermines both equitable resource distribution and institutional integrity.
“The issue is not just legal. It is structural and political,” Kioni added.
His remarks come days after the ODM leader, Raila Odinga, declared the fund obsolete, urging the MPs to focus on their traditional roles of oversight, policy formulation and representation.
Raila on NG-CDF
Raila Odinga renewed calls for an overhaul of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF).
He proposed that all resources currently managed under the two programmes be transferred to county governments.
He argues that the move would enhance efficiency, strengthen devolution, and improve service delivery.
Speaking on Thursday, August 14, 2025, at the Devolution conference in Homa Bay County, Raila noted that CDF was introduced at a time when Kenyans were seeking equitable resource distribution under an imperial presidency that starved many regions of development funds.
“Most of the work was left to harambees; when you needed to build a school, harambee; a dispensary, harambee,” he said.
“But the system has since changed. We removed the patronage model, adopted devolution, created a constitutional commission to allocate resources, and empowered Parliament on budgetary matters. In this new order, CDF is obsolete.”
The former Prime Minister criticised the fund for distorting the role of MPs, saying their constitutional duty is to represent the people, legislate, and oversee the national government, not to distribute bursaries or construct classrooms.
“That is the work of counties,” he said.
