Muturi explains why MPs should be stripped of NG-CDF control
By Mabonga Makhanu, July 9, 2025Former Attorney General and Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has called for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to be removed from the control of Members of Parliament, arguing that their roles should strictly remain legislative, representative, and oversight, as outlined in the Constitution.
Speaking in a radio interview on Wednesday, July 9, Muturi questioned why MPs are directly involved in managing public funds, particularly through the CDF. He pointed out that most MPs focus on building schools using CDF allocations, which, in his view, is outside their constitutional mandate.
Muturi argued that the responsibility of building schools lies with the Ministry of Education, which has the technical capacity, structures, and planning units for such projects. He emphasised that MPs should only play a representative role by identifying areas in need of intervention and proposing them to the relevant ministries for action.
“Why should the MPs be the ones building schools? The Ministry of Education has a planning department; they should, at the touch of a button, know how many schools there are in the country so that the MPs would be able to then look through their oversight work and representation work.
“There is this school in their places that needs some work; that is the work of representation,” Muturi said.
Bursaries
He also raised concerns about how bursaries are distributed under the CDF, saying the system promotes dependency and mainly benefits individuals close to the MPs.
According to Muturi, despite the existence of bursaries, many children are still dropping out of school due to a lack of fees, signalling inefficiency and favouritism in the current system.
“It creates some form of dependency; it patronises parents, because the parent who is able to reach them, the MP or his cronies, is the one who will benefit,” Muturi added.
Muturi now wants all bursary programmes to be abolished and education to be made free. He proposes that all forms of bursaries from the President, governors, women representatives, MPs, and MCAs be consolidated into one and redirected to fund free education for all.
Muturi’s remarks come at a time when debate over the future of the CDF continues to generate mixed reactions, with growing calls for the abolishment of the kitty.