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Mbadi in race against time to hand MPs NG-CDF billions
Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi.
The National Treasury is racing against time to disburse all the money related to the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) before the fund becomes extinct on June 30, 2026, in line with the court order.
In a message sent to Parliament through the office of the Majority Leader, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said all of the Sh58 billion of the NG-CDF would be disbursed in full before June 2026.
Mr Mbadi informed the House that, beginning October, all constituencies would receive a minimum of Sh7 billion per month, despite the court ruling, to ensure that ongoing budgeted projects for this financial year are not affected.
“The National Treasury has assured this House that all the monies will be disbursed in time, and the CS is ready to appear before us at any time to clarify the matter,” the Deputy Majority Leader, Owen Baya, told the House.
However, the lawmakers expressed concern that the court ruling could result in the stalling of ongoing projects in the constituencies due to the delayed disbursement of funds by the National Treasury. If the current court appeal does not favour parliament, all projects and activities related to the fund will cease next year.
Last year, a bench of three High Court judges declared the NG-CDF Act unconstitutional for violating the principle of separation of powers.
The court ruled that all NDCDF projects, programmes and activities would cease to operate at midnight on June 30, 2026.
Kitutu Masaba MP Clive Gisairo raised the matter on the floor of the House, pointing out that the first quarter of the new financial year was coming to an end without any funds being disbursed to the NG-CDF.
"As MPs, we will be walking a tightrope if we don’t start speaking out now.’ The CDF board has not yet received the allocation for the first quarter, which amounts to 19.5 billion shillings. There is a risk of us falling into a trap because of a court order stating that the NGCDF will end on 30 June 2026,” said Mr Gisairo.
He expressed concern that, if there is no disbursement to the kitty by the end of quarter one, the board will be 39 billion in arrears by quarter two of this financial year.
"If MPs don’t speak up now and have these funds released, we won’t beat the court order deadline and won’t complete all the projects before May. We need to know when the Treasury will start disbursing the funds, because they are already 19 billion behind and, in 10 days' time, they will be 39 billion behind,” said Mr Gisairo.
Established in 2003 by then MP for Ol Kalou constituency, Engineer Muriuki Karue, who sponsored the CDF Bill 2003 as a private member's bill, which was enacted into law following its assent in December of that year, the fund is now at risk of extinction.
However, MPs are fighting to save the fund, as the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2025 has already passed, which seeks to enshrine three key funds in the Constitution.
Co-sponsored by Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo and Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkong’a, the Bill seeks to enshrine the National Government Constituencies Fund (NG-CDF), the Senate Oversight Fund (SOF), and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NG-AAF) in the Constitution.
In July, the National Assembly unanimously passed the Bill, with 304 MPs voting in favour, thus achieving the two-thirds constitutional requirement. The bill has since been taken to the Senate for consideration.
However, last week the High Court stopped Parliament from forwarding the bill to President Ruto for assent.
Stakeholders such as the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), who presented their views on the Bill to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, said it undermines the doctrine of separation of powers and the rule of law by contradicting various court judgements on the Constituency Development Fund and the National Government Constituency Development Fund.
The LSK also pointed out that the funds duplicate the functions of the county government, which will lead to inefficiencies and potential conflicts of interest in service delivery.
For its part, the Council of Governors pointed out that the Bill undermines the separation of powers between the three arms of government and the functions of county governments.
According to a report by the JLAC, the CDF has facilitated the establishment of 3,087 schools and offered bursaries to 1.2 million needy students since its inception.
The fund dedicates approximately 15 billion Kenyan shillings annually towards the bursary scheme.
In partnership with the Ministry of Education, the fund has supported the construction of 130 Technical Training Institutes (TTIs) and 61 new Kenya Medical Training Colleges (KMTCs), leading to the enrolment of 13,511 students.
