Local Development Monitor

8/9/2019 Local Development Monitor

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Volume 1June 2010

www.tisa.or.ke

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With support of The Open Society Iniative for East Africa (OSIEA)


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Editorial 2

Devolution not te panacea to allour political needs 3

ALGAK Secretar General speaksout on reforms as Bill aims atlocking out rogue councilors 4

Piecemeal funding responsible formaternal deats in Rongai 5

Citizen audit leads to improvedmanagement of Alego UsongaBursaries 6

Mumias farmers demand priorit inCDF allocation 7

Will Count GovernmentsDeliver? 9

Wat is Devolution? 9

An Analsis of Count GovernmentStructures in te ProposedConstitution of Kena 10

Will Count GovernmentsDeliver? 11

Missing! CDF Task Force Report 13

CDF: Is parliament read to let go ofte cas cow? 14

CDF ere to sta, MPs sa 15

Land grab: A win for te people ofMwingi 16

Ronda Market Communit

demands action 17

ESP: Was it too muc too soon? 18

W ESP migt not acieve itsobjectives 19

Editorial

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the

first issue of The Local Development

Monitor which TISA shall publish on

a quarterly basis. Through The Local

Development Monitor we hope to informour readers of the resources available to

us at the local level, opportunities for our

involvement and an understanding of

needed reforms as a way to push for more

effective local governance in Kenya.

As we get involved in the red and green

campaign of the Proposed Constitution,

most of us are unaware of the vast resources

currently available to local development in

Kenya. In the 2009-2010 financial year over

Kshs. 200 million was allocated to local

development through the CDF, LATF and ESP

alone. There are over 13 local developmentschemes at present spending money at

local authority or constituency level.

However, Local development is marked

by low public awareness and insufficient

participation. Low citizen involvement

allows local officials to manipulate the

funds and benefit themselves at the

expense of genuine development needs.

The local development sector requires

far reaching reforms and numerous

initiatives are underway including the

Local Government reform initiative - The

Local Government Amendment Bill 2009

is discussed by Ken Obonyo on page 4 the

CDF Task Force review whose report is still

awaited (see Dorah Nesobas article on

page13 and the Proposed Constitution (see

the analysis on pgs 9-12).

We are also pleased to cover numerous

reports on the experiences of citizens in

their monitoring efforts through citizen

social audits. In this issue we have included

experiences from Nakuru Town, Rongai,

Mumias, Alego Usonga and Mwingi made

possible through the efforts of the Centre

for Enhancing Democracy and GoodGovernance (CEDGG), the Centre for Peace

and Democracy (CEPAD) and the Centre

for Human Rights and Civic Education

(CHRCE).

A selection of stories will be updated on

our website (www.tisa.or.ke).

On behalf of the team responsible for this

publication, I look forward to your feedback

and support.

Enjoy.

Ciru

National Coordinator (TISA)

Local DevelopmentMonitor is a publication ofThe Institute for Social

Accountability (TISA)

www.tisa.or.ke

[email protected]

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youtube.com/user/tisakenya

Editorial Coordinator:

Wanjiru Gikonyo

Editor: Dorah Nesoba

Sub Editor: Moses Radoli

Contributors: Ken Obonyo, Joseph

Barasa, Pascaline Ndila, Elias

Wakhisi, Moses Radoli, Dorah

Nesoba & Wanjiru Gikonyo

Cartoonists: Kissinger H.

Opati & David Tum

Design & laout:J.J. Yofi

Production Consultant:Almonds Creative

This publication has included

material from the Centre for

Enhancing Democracy and Good

Governance (CEDGG) Rongai and

Nakuru as well as Centre for Peace

and Democracy (CEPAD) Mumias

and Alego Usonga Social Audit

reports, the Centre for Human Rights

and Civic Education (CHRCE) report

on Mwingi Playing Ground, the

National Taxpayers AssociationCitizen Report Cards and the

IEA report on Devolution.

This paper is produced with kind

support from The Open Society

Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA)

With support

of The OpenSociety Iniativefor East Africa(OSIEA)

www.t

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NTA - Shs 500m Lost inCDF Scandal

At least Kshs. 500 million of the Constituency

Development Fund (CDF) allocated to twenty

three constituencies cannot be accounted for,

a report by the National Taxpayers Association

reveals.

The money, according to the study, was lost

in wasteful spending. An audit report indicates

that the amount was lost through either ghost

projects or uncompleted projects for two

nancial years.

Released on April 6, 2010, the NTA report

titled Citizens CDF Report Card, censures

MPs for their role in the mismanagement of

CDF.

A huge chunk of the money, says NTA, ended

up in the pockets of relatives and friends of the

legislators who won contracts to build schools,

bridges, water projects and health centres, most

of which stalled mid stream.

NTA is a national, volunteer-based

organisation established in 2006 to improve

the delivery of services and the management of

devolved funds for the benet of all Kenyans.

Budalangi MP, Ababu Namwamba whose

constituency is ranked the best among the 17audited, however, claries that a lot of activity

including awarding of tenders goes on without

knowledge of a sitting MP.

Mathira in Central Province was also listed

among worst performing of the surveyed

constituencies in the nancial year 2006/07.

To date, it cannot account for Kshs. 30

million, equivalent to 84 per cent of allocated

resources.

Releasing the report, NTA National

Coordinator Mr. Michael Otieno, regretted that a

whopping Kshs. 276 million was lost in 2006 and

an additional 167 million the following year.

A similar report in 2007 is believed to have

partly led to the voting out of 160 MPs after it

unearthed massive wastage in constituencies

where politicians had appointed their relatives

and campaign managers to manage CDF.

The top 10 constituencies in funds wastageare Mathira, Kamukunji, Embakasi, Ganze,

Makadara, Aldai, Bondo, Kangema, Mumias

and Bahari. Budalangi constituency was rated

as having the best nancial management

Nairobi City Council topped the list of the

most corrupt local authorities, wasting 64 per

cent of the total Local Authority Transfer Funds

allocated.

SPAN: Citizens left outof local development

During the latter half of 2009, Social and

Public Accountability Network (SPAN) and

Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)

undertook a joint research study whose focus

was an assessment of citizens participation

in the management of decentralized funds in

Kenya.

The study also assessed the extent of

duplication among the funds and sought

suggestions on how the management of the

funds can be improved.

Titled, Harmonization of Decentralized

Development in Kenya, the study says

Politicians are the cause of inefciency in the

use of devolved funds.

The role of politicians in enforcing the fund

directly undermines oversight and accountability

and promotes political patronage over

development goals.

It goes on to explain, The current

approach to decentralization in Kenya through

implementation of decentralized funds is

sporadic, lacks a policy framework and does not

have the institutional support for coordination,

accountability, monitoring and evaluation.

While citizens awareness of decentralized

funds is generally high (with CDF leading

at 96%), the level of citizens participation is

generally low (again CDF has the highest (39%)in projects identication. Citizen involvement in

planning, prioritization, and monitoring is low.

SPAN is a network of 8 Non Governmental

organizations.

The study recommends the need for a clearly

dened unit of development and scrapping of all

parallel structures.

We propose the establishment of one

basket for all development funds at the local

level to avoid the wasteful multiplicity of funds.

These provisions should safeguard citizen

participation, vertical and horizontal integration

and accountability.

The study notes that despite signicant

improvements in service delivery by decentralised

funds over the past six years,

most devolved units face a

widening gap between demand

and supply of services resultingin citizens losing condence in

decentralised development.

Citizens growing alienation

means that while Kenyans are

demanding more and better

services, they are also less likely

to contribute to local development

through their own actions

because of the multiplicity and

duplicity of funds, it says.

Against this backdrop, the

Ministry of Planning, National

Development and Vision 2030

has now proposed a new

framework that could be adopted

in the management of funds to

check on leakages.

Assistant Minister, Peter Kenneth speaking

during the report launch explains that the new

proposals are stemmed in the realisation that

the ministry recognises the fact that there are

no proper mechanisms for harmonization of

priorities of the countrys devolved funds.

Says Mr. Kenneth: We are talking of the

funds at the constituency level as well as those

funds that are sent directly to the district coffers

by various ministries and including funds from

other sources such as local authorities and the

NGOs.

Devolution not thepanacea to all ourpolitical needsThe excitement it has generated notwithstanding, a

devolved government may fail to achieve its primary

objective of wealth and power distribution, the Institute

of Economic Affairs (IEA) warns.Presenting its research ndings recently, IEA

proposes that Parliament should pass a Devolution

Act that will clearly dene the functions and roles

of devolved governments under the Proposed

Constitution. The report is titled Devolution in Kenya:

Prospects, Challenges and the Future.

Tracing the majimbo (or Ugatuzi) history way

back to 1964 when it was discarded by the Kenyatta

Administration, the study observes there must be

political will among leaders if the country is to avoid

similar failures of the devolved system.

Of greater concern is the observation that the

devolution debate, rightly or wrongly, evokes tribal and

regional emotions. The study also notes the push for

devolution is not always hinged on careful analysis of

its advantages and disadvantages. Devolution is notthe answer to all political challenges.

In fact as IEAs Chief Executive Ofcer, Margaret

Chemengich, observes, devolution, including

other forms of decentralization, may not always

lead to improved governance and economicperformance.

For instance,

she warns,

d e v o l u t i o n

may reduce

the ability

of the

gove rnm en t

to redistribute

r e s o u r c e s

and therefore

the ability to

assist the less

developed sub-

national units.

ByKEN OBONyO

www.tisa.or.ke

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4/20

ByKEN OBONyO

To many Kenyans, reforms within localauthorities are just the magic prescriptionneeded to heal the otherwise ailing sector.

Amongst recent reforms is the introductionof a national budget day for all local

authorities which is perhaps the most visibleof all reforms introduced in the authorities.

The national budget day created anopportunity for members of the publicto actively participate in programmestheir local authorities intended to rollout each fiscal year.

Recently, Local GovernmentMinister, Musalia Mudavadi, in a bidto enhance participation of citizens inthe management of local authorities,proposed an ambitious plan to lockout perceived rogue councillors. Theproposed law wants mayors and council

chairpersons elected directly by votersin elections supervised by the electoralcommission to serve five-year terms. Tolead a metropolis, proven work experience-- at management level -- of not less than10 years, will be required.

While mayors will serve for one term,deputy mayors are eligible for re-election.

This, it is expected, will end the seasonaldrama of councillors punching each otherfor positions and being locked up in hideoutsto prevent them from being bought by rivalgroups. Councillors will be required to haveattained Form Four level of education andnot to have been convicted of any offence.

The number of nominated councillors willdrastically reduce from one-third of theelected councillors to one-sixth.

Bill seeks to repeal te Odious CAP 265

Mr. Mudavadi, also the Deputy PrimeMinister hopes the new law will improveservices, cut corruption and make localauthorities more democratic. The LocalGovernment (Amendment) Bill, 2009 isintended to get rid of the Local Authority

Act. The law has been blamed for the chaoticlocal government and for the loopholesused to plunder public resources.

Mr. Hamisi Mboga the Secretary Generalof Association of Local Government

Authorities (ALGAK) explains numerous

reforms already introduced by the CentralGovernment in an effort to improve Local

Authorities performance. He cites theexample of performance contracts forpersonnel in the councils, local authoritiesintegrated financial management systems(LAIFOMS), budget guidelines and the Local

Authority Service Delivery Plan (LASDAP assome reforms.

In a policy article published in April2010 (http://www.tisa.or.ke/website/local-government.html ), Mr. Mboga stressesthat the Local Government Act (Cap.265)has failed to provide for wealth creation,leadership, transparency, accountability,order and resident/ratepayers participationin running and management of the localauthorities. He stresses that without itsrepeal the numerous challenges facingLocal Authorities in Kenya cannot be dealt

with. The challenges include inadequateresources, lack of community participationframeworks and conflicting legislations onprovision of services.

Mr. Mboga supports the Local Government(Amendment) Bill 2009 stressing that itprovides the opportunity to address thehistorical and systematic challenges withinthe entire local government system in the

country.Will passage of te Constitution render

Reform Bill Redundant?

According to Mr. Mboga the Reformbill falls in very well with the devolutionprovisions in the proposed constitution.

And stresses that both the constitutionand reform bill will need to be enacted andmade operational to ensure they meet theirstated ends.

If these laws are passed, they willrequire interpretation and unpacking into anumber of strategic policy and managementreforms and frameworks, particularly indefining and setting parameters for theroles, functions and responsibilities of

the different stakeholders of the localgovernments organs, says Mr. Mboga.

Some of the specific reforms identifiedby ALGAK include strategic planning andpolicy reforms to enable the county andlocal authorities to provide basic servicesto the communities such as water andsanitation, health and education services,general infrastructure development,security, employment and setting theconducive atmosphere for investment. Thebill addresses this by proposing the mergerof some councils which are not economically

viable. It outlines criteria that will be usedto create county councils, municipalities,

city councils and metropolitan councils.This means that the current criteria of towncouncils will be scrapped after 2012.

The four levels will be determined by theamount of revenue they collect, the areasize, the infrastructure and the potential fordevelopment. For instance, for a municipalcouncil to be elevated to city status, it musthave notable features of historical, nationalor international importance. The minister

will confer the status to any council on theadvice of the Local Authorities AdvisoryCommission whose establishment isprovided for by the Bill. The Advisory

Commissions job will be to advise the LocalGovernment minister on the creation ordissolution, merger, and classification ofcouncils.

Mr. Mboga also identifies sensitization andawareness meetings for the communitiesto define their roles, responsibilities andrelationship with the county governmentsis yet another important area consideringthe fact that in the past they have largelybeen ignored and kept at a distance.

ALGAK also proposes that as part of thelocal authorities reforms, the governmentshould establish a Local Government

Training Institute (LGTI) to provide

trainings that focus on and address alllocal government matters and concerns inthe country.

One of the key challenges facing LocalGovernment today has been the CentralGovernments excessive control underthe Local Government Act Chapter 265popularly known as CAP 265. Mr. Mbogaurges Parliament to pass the LocalGovernment Review Bill in order to createa culture of representative and participatorygovernance that will support sustainabledevelopment and investment.

Are LATF funds being allocated/usedwell in your constituency? Let us know

at www.facebook.com/tisakenya

ALGAK Secretary General speaks out on reformsas Bill aims at locking out rogue councilors

The LocalGovernment(Amendment)Bill, 2009 isintended to getrid of the LocalGovernment Act.

Nbi C Cuc. Ky a 175cucl but 40 l susg,h t n e fm h LocAur T Fud (LATF)

Mi, p cn u hh hn oc ur

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In the social audit reports by CEDGG forNakuru Town and Rongai constituenciesand CEPAD in Alego Usonga, Kisumu Ruraland Mumias it was found that low levelsof community participation in projectidentification contributed to stalling ofprojects. The reports say numerous projectsinitiated by the kitty are incomplete due

to lack of local community involvement. Violation of the Public Procurement Actand regulations by project managementcommittees was also cited as a flawthreatening the kitty with loopholes inthe Constituency Development Fund Actleading to poor management of the kitty.

A social audit is the process through which all details of apublic scheme are scrutinised by its beneficiaries, including themanagement of finances, officers responsible, recordkeeping,access to information, accountability and levels of publicinvolvement.

A social audit seeks to evaluate how well public resourcesare being used to meet the real needs of target beneficiaries.

ByKEN OBONyO

Last year, Moses Lagat lost his dear wifebecause of a maternal complication. Shebled to death before she could access a

well-equipped facility in Nakuru town. The newly married Faith Lagat had beenadmitted at Rongai Health Centre but sheexperienced abnormally prolonged labourpains, prompting the doctors to induce thepregnancy.

Even then, they did not have the

prescribed medicine at the institution andI had to dash to Salgaa town (about 13kilometres away) to purchase drugs froma chemist, narrates Moses, a residentof Ngessumin village in Kandutura sub-location, Rongai.

The medication worked instantly and anelated Moses became a proud father of ababy boy. But the next moment he was a

widower. His wife collapsed and died on theway as she was rushed to a better facility inNakuru town, 47 kilometres away.

A week earlier, a woman from Salgaaarea died in similar circumstances aftergiving birth to twins. And akin to theKiswahili adage, Mganga hajigangi, anurse at Rongai Health Centre succumbedfollowing a last-minute decision to seekhelp from a better-equipped facility. Shedied on the way to hospital, regrets herfriend and community social worker, AnnNyige.

As CDF Fund Manager in the constituency,Peter Lengapiany explains, the threat tolives of expectant mothers is not limited toRongai town. Mr. Lengapiany cites instancesof ongoing projects in Nyamamithi, LakeSolai, Kimangu-Kandutura, Lengenet andKamosop on the borderline of Rongai and

Mogotio constituencies, as those gearedtowards arresting the maternal healthchallenge across the constituency.

The constituency is expansive with hardlyadequate and reliable facilities. I would say,the peoples prioritization of maternity wingprojects is quite appropriate, Lengapianytold this writer.

Owing to the chain of maternal relateddeaths, Ann recollects that former area MP,

Alicen Chelaite, held consultations withfellow women across the constituency androlled out the maternity projects. The one inRongai town was set up in 2006.

The maternity wing project was initiatedto address the hospitals initial challengesof providing specialized services such asthe incubation of infants and caesareanoperations, explains Michael Odeke,Clinical Officer In-Charge.

Odeke enumerates a host of otherchallenges, including lack of blood

transfusion equipment and an ambulancethat have hampered the institutionsdelivery of better service. The nearestreferral health facility in the region is afurther 100 kilometres away in EldamaRavine and 47 kilometres in Nakuru.

The common problem that we experiencehere is that of a retained placenta. This is acondition where the after-birth membranefails to come out and manual interventionleads to excessive bleeding, explains

Odeke.Singling out the period between January

and March last year as the worst, the clinicalofficer pleads for quick implementation ofthe maternity wing project. During the saidperiod, a total of 13 expectant mothers losttheir lives.

Most got to our station with alreadypaper-white eyes (a sign of haemorrhage)and there is little we could do, Odekeexplained. The hospital registers an averageof 40 deliveries a month.

Area assistant chief, Benson Koskey,explains the community opted to settle forthe maternity project to avert the series ofdeaths and further check on the HIV/Aids

risk posed by untrained midwives.

Because of the long distance they haveto cover to the health facility, coupled with

the inadequacy of its facilities, most parentsopt to deliver from homes. The risks hereare many, and this project hopes to addressthis challenge, observes Koskey.

However, progress has been slow and todate many women and babies remain at agreat risk. Records made available to this

writer indicate that out of the estimatedcost of Kshs. 4,498,406, the project whoseconstruction began in 2007 has onlyreceived Kshs. 300,000 from the CDF kitty.

Investigations by our team reveal, a sumof Kshs. 297,700 was spent on purchaseof at least 3,000 construction stones, 50tonnes of ballast, 55 tonnes of hardcore

stones and 40 tonnes of sand. But owingto the delay in the disbursement of fundsand subsequent construction, locals have

vandalised some of the material, whichlay on the site for a long time before thetransition period of 2007-8.

A Social Audit exercise undertaken

last year the Centre for EnhancingDemocracy & Good Governance (CEDGG)identified the factors that have preventedthe completion of numerous dispensariesin the constituency.

The incumbent MP inherited numerousincomplete projects, some of which haddragged on for over three years. Piecemealfunding of projects is illegal under the CDFlaw, yet the practice is rampant as in the

case of Rongai. The CDF Act provides thatconstituencies which do not fully utilise theirfunds will not receive subsequent funding-yet this provision has not been enforced

cumulating in numerous incompleteprojects, and incomplete dispensaries inRongai- and the unnecessary deaths ofexpectant mothers.

CEDGG also recommends that theCDF Act should ensure that projects becompleted within agiven financial yearas far as possible.

According to thereport the incomingCDF committeereceived inadequateinformation on the

ongoing projectsdue to poor andhaphazard handingover proceduresfrom the former

Rgi Hl C n Rgi Csc

M. Lg h Rgi Fud Mg

Piecemeal funding responsible for maternal deaths inRongai

13 h v ost h lv n hast 3

Contdonpage 13

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6/20

ByMUSA RADOLI

THE devastationthat haunts 16year old *Kathleen

Anyango in

her quest foreducation began

with the deathof her father. Shehad just passedher third termexams and wasto proceed toform two at DudiSecondary schoolin 2004. Soon hermother also died.

The doubletragedy left

Kathleen, thefirst born in thefamily, to fend

for her three younger siblings; two brothersand a sister.

Despite the daunting challenges,Kathleen was determined to pursue hereducation dreams. In the year 2005, sheapplied for bursary support from the AlegoUsonga Constituency Bursary Fund (CBF).

I knew I qualified for the bursary andhad every reason to believe I would getit considering the support I had from thecommunity in the village. I also knew that Ihad met all the requirements. I desperately

needed and still need the bursary supportto complete my education, says Kathleen.

After making countless over 30 kilometretrips to and from the CDFC offices shelearnt of her fate three weeks afterthe cheques had been released to thebeneficiaries that she did not make it.

This set back neither discouraged her nordimmed her determination to continue

with her education and in the year 2006 she

reapplied but failed to secure a bursary.

Un-beknown to Kathleen, a majority ofthe beneficiaries from both the CBF andCDF bursary funds from the constituencybetween 2003 to 2007/8 were students

with both parents alive and working,some with relatives on the CBFC includingother students not from the constituencyaccording to a social audit report by Centrefor Peace and Democracy (CEPAD).

However, she admits that she is not awareof the new CBF and CDF managementteams whose operations, transparency andaccountability levels are completely thereverse of the previous teams.

The Alego Usonga Constituency SocialAudit Report by Centre CEPAD documentsthat out of a total of 171 beneficiaries fromthe CBF by 2008, 68 were students with

parents alive, 58 partial or single parentorphans, 30 total orphans, 13 un-knownstudents and three working adults.

The document tabulates that: Thecategorization of the beneficiaries byfamily backgrounds both from the CBF andthe CDF funds were: CBF 28 total orphans,CDF two total orphans, partial or singleparent orphans CBF 43 and CDF 14,both parents alive CBF 42 and CDF 26,un-known students CBF 14 and CDF 1and working adults CBF 0 and CDF -3.

The report states that some of thebeneficiaries were traced to their learninginstitutions, their homes in the villages

across the constituency, while some couldnot be traced, even from records in thelearning institutions they were purportedto have been schooling in and yet CBFcheques were disbursed.

CEPAD says that during the interviewswith beneficiaries, it was established thatmany did not apply for the bursaries, werenot even aware of having got them, whileothers did not know about the existence

of the two bursary funds contrary to thebursary disbursement regulations.

The report notes: Three of thebeneficiaries were from the same familyand benefited from the fund for three

consecutive years, yet both of their parentsare still alive and employees of a popularreligious institution. One member of thatfamily is a member of the CBFC and hencemust have influenced the process.

It goes on: 10.08% of the beneficiaries who were interviewed never applied anddid not understand the application process.

This was mainly under the CBF and is anindication of serious flaws right from theapplication process to the awarding andfeedback processes.

CEPAD goes on to document that thesame happened to a senior member of the

CBFC and an employee of the ministry ofeducation whose daughter was awarded abursary despite the fact that they (Daughterand ministry employee) were not membersof the constituency.

It emerged that while most of thebeneficiaries were traceable, either attheir institutions of learning or villages, 13could not be found either because they hadalready completed school or others werenot known in the institutions where theirnames appeared as beneficiaries.

The case for the former group isunderstandable but the latter raisesquestions on whether they were ghost

students. Information on the procedurethese students followed to be awarded,their family backgrounds and real benefitfrom the funds could not be established,says the social audit.

Contacted for comment, the former CBFCchairman, Rev. Odhiambo said: We triedour level best to strictly follow the ministryguidelines, though I must accept that wehad problems and tried to tackle them. Thisis normal and I can assure you that things

will be very fine, that is all I can say.

He declined to answer any questions as towhy some of the beneficiaries were children

whose parents were alive; why some people who never applied benefitted and whyCBFC members were allowed togive bursaries to relatives.

According to the immediateformer CEPAD national teamleader, Mike Juma, The new teamsare very open and transparent.Members of the public can accessany information or documents they

wish to get from the two devolvedfunds which has greatly improvedpublic confidence.

He says as a result of the CEPADaudit report, many changes and

improvements have been made bythe new leadership of the funds.

*Name has been changed toprotect the identity of the student.

10.08% h cr rvwd v ld

M brght but chn cc bur t h Csc v.

Citizen audit leads to improved management of AlegoUsonga Bursaries

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7/20

By JOSEPH BARASA

Extreme food and financial pressure hadbeen consistently building up since theearly 1980s against the family of MzeeGerald Waluchio Shikanda from Imanga

village in Mumias Constituency.

By the late 1990s the pressure had alreadytaken a stranglehold on the now expanded

family that was completely dependent onsugar cane farming which covered threequarters of the familys ten acre piece ofland since the 1970s.

When the Constituency DevelopmentFund (CDF) was introduced in the year2003, Mzee Shikanda says his family hopedit would alleviate their food shortages.

I saw a lot of hope in the CDF becausewe could no longer produce enough food tofeed the family on the quarter piece of landreserved for food crops, he says.

Therefore when the CDF which hadcome as a ray of hope for thousands of the

constituencys residents failed to provide asolution by the year 2007/8 - their angerexploded into a constituency wide outcry.

The immediate victim of the wholesalepublic rage for CDFs failure to provide asolution was the then patron and area MP,

Wycliffe Osundwa who was voted out at the2007 general elections.

Centre for Peace and Democracy(CEPAD), Mumias Coordinator Edward

Wambani says the farmers were so enragedand desperate because of the persistentdelays in payments for the sugarcane theydelivered to Mumias Sugar Company.

They were desperate for an alternativemeans of survival or diversified agriculturalalternatives since they are totally dependenton agriculture, says Mr. Wambani.

Though the MP had done a sterling job in using monies from the fund tobuild magnificent CDF and districtheadquarters, classrooms in schools acrossthe constituency, health facilities amongstother projects nothing had been doneabout the most sensitive of the peoplesneeds, investment in agricultural projectsbetween 2003 to 2007/8.

Despite the constituency being reputedas the leading producer of sugarcane and

home to the largest sugar producingfactory in the country it is also theleading food importer compared toits neighbouring constituencies in

western province.

It is also ranked as one of thepoorest in the national constituencypoverty at number 123 out of 210constituencies according to the2005/6 survey.

Mumias Deputy District Agricultural Officer (DAO) Jacqueline Ongeso says: Mumiasremains a net importer of food fromneighbouring districts like Busia,Bungoma, Kitale and Trans Nzoiabecause of over dependence onsugarcane production.

Ms. Ongeso says that the endresult has been laziness and total

lack of initiatives to venture into diversifiedagricultural activities since the companiesconnected to sugarcane production virtuallydid everything from ploughing of the farmsall the way to harvesting the crops, leadingto heavy deductions before the farmers arepaid their net dues.

A social Audit of the constituencycompleted in 2008/9 established thatagriculture was consistently given a totalblackout in financial allocations fromdevolved funds since 2003.

Though a total of 156 various categoriesof development projects were financedfrom the devolved funds during the periodspanning five years from 2003 to 2008 none of them covered the agriculturalsector.

Development funds which were targetedin the research were the ConstituencyDevelopment Fund (CDF), the ConstituencyBursary Fund (CBF) and the Local

Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF).

The report says despite the strategicposition that the agricultural sectoroccupies in national strategies in povertyeradication, no consideration was givenin setting aside finances to support anyagricultural development project.

Says the report: Agriculture despitebeing the economic mainstay of MumiasConstituency, received neither directfinancial support in all the five years from(2003/4 to 2007/8) from the CDF nor LATFfrom the two local authorities - MumiasMunicipal council and Butere Mumias

County Council.This trend could be interpreted to mean

that the sector has fully matured or isnot a leading priority in the constituency,otherwise neglecting the sector could lead toadverse negative economic consequences,

warns the report.

It is from this background that since lastyear the new CDFC had to go back to thedrawing board. Since then, more than Kshs.2.5 million has been allocated in alreadybludgeoning agricultural diversificationprojects.

According to Benedict Okwako, the CDFC

official in charge of agriculture, by the end

of last year, the CDFC had allocated Kshs. 1million in phase one of a new programmeinvolving the introduction of oil palmproduction in the constituency.

Mr. Okwako says that in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural ResearchInstitute (KARI), Bukura AgriculturalInstitute, the Ministry of Agriculture andother stakeholders were first trained intechniques of how to tend the oil palmcrops.

So far we have distributed 10, 000 oilpalm seedlings to the farmers. There isa high response and demand from thefarmers because this is what they wanted.In phase two the CDF has allocated Kshs.1.5 million to plant 10, 000 more seedlings,he says.

The CDFC official says that apart fromoil palm production, the local communitieshave already submitted proposals to theCDFC seeking to venture into productionof alternative food and cash crops,especially high value fast maturing cropsthrough green house production and othertechniques.

Mr. Okwako and Ms. Ongeso saythat community leaders have alreadyapproached one of the leading cooking oilmanufacturing firms in the country andagreed that the company would constructa factory to process the oil palm.

We are targeting planting of more than

30, 000 oil palm plants throughout theconstituency in three phases. The plants

will start bearing fruit after two to threeyears. With supplies from these 30, 000plants we will be able to feed the factoryand constantly maintain its productionprocess all year round.

The other areas that the CDF has nowallocated funds is the planting of avocadoseedlings through community groups andeducational institutions, dairy and poultryfarming as well as the construction of afresh produce market whose tenderingprocess has already been completed in

preparation for the construction works.

Mumias farmers demand priority in CDF allocation

Mua CDF: l t

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8/20

ByMUSA RADOLI

For a long time since the establishmentof the Constituency Development Fund(CDF) Ann Wambui Karanja had tried toaccess information on its operations atconstituency and project levels but failed.

Though a respected member andleader of the community in Nakuru townconstituency, her efforts to seek basicinformation concerning the London Gioto

water tank project only met a wall of silence,secrecy, suspicion and outright hostility.

Like thousands of other residents of theNakuru Town constituency community, Ms.Karanja was aware of the fact that the CDF

was a community fund for developmentprojects, but was not aware of the roleshe was supposed to play, leading to thegeneral belief that the projects were merelyrewards from the government.

She says it was impossible not onlyto access the documents concerning the

London Gioto water tank project, but alsoget the PMC officials to talk about theproject, whose estimated total cost duringthe 2006/7 fiscal year was pegged at Kshs.3.6 million. A total of Kshs. 1.3 million wasallocated and spent while Kshs. 2.3 million

was frozen by the CDFC.

The consequences of this perpetual stateof secrecy are that the community appearsto have lost the project to the prisonsdepartment since the incomplete tank

was built on land belonging to the prisonsdepartment hence the freezing of thecash.

However, the most dramatic of all is thedecisive action by the community in April2010 to sack the previous PMC and replaceit with a team elected by members of thecommunity.

According to a social audit of the projectcovering the period between 2003 and 2007,the tank construction is incomplete andalready has signs of leakages on the wallsthough in use by the prisons community.

The report says there was poor recordkeeping, documentation and lack ofsufficient information on the financialmanagement status. There were noinvoices, vouchers, Local Purchase Orders

(LPOs) and receipts found in the projectfile.

The project was started by a membershiporganization thus limiting communityinvolvement and ownership. It was hijackedby the GK prisons and ownership changedinto their name. The PMC chairmanadmitted they were no longer in controland thus the remaining Kshs. 2, 347, 904

withheld by the CDF cannot be released tocomplete the project, says the report.

This appears only to have been thetip of the ice berg as the officials of theCentre for Enhancing Democracy andGood Governance (CEDGG) were soon tofind out when they tried to mobilise thecommunitys involvement in the CDF Social

Audit of projects in the constituency.

CEDGG Programmes Manager, CorneliusOduor declares: It was a nightmare to getany information or document concerning theCDF projects throughout the constituency.

Worse still, members of the communityhad been reduced to total apathy. Peoplehad given up, we therefore had to buildtheir capacities and educate them on theirrights for them to be able to take chargeand ownership of the projects.

Indeed it took the intervention of thelocal District Development Officer (DDO)and the District Officers (DO) intervention.

Even so the CDFC officials werereluctant to release project filesfor scrutiny and out of morethan 50 projects involved, only15 files were released for theSocial Audit exercise.

We were only able to get 15project files for the communitytrainings, but even as that washappening the CDFC sent outdirections to all the PMCs notto release project files to us. Wehad to make do with what wehad since the files covered a

wide section of various projects

across the constituency,says the CEDGG programmesManager.

He says that after acquiringthe files, information wasshared with communitymembers about specific projectsat the grassroots level beforeconvening a stakeholdersconstituency forum to shareand critique the findings of the audit.

CEDGG reports that after a successfulsocial audit of the 15 projects, the Nakurutown CDFC officials have virtually turned

around and are cooperating by encouragingthe PMCs to avail information concerningprojects to the members of the publicbecause of the positive impact.

The biggest roadblocks to accessinginformation, documents and files concerningthe projects have been the PMCs. That is

why many are now being replaced by thecommunities, says Mr. Oduor.

Following the sacking of the old PMCat Gioto, a local community leader, DanielKamau told this writer: The new PMCleadership has embarked on an immediateprogramme to recover the project fromthe prisons authorities and restore it

back to community ownership after beingempowered by the same community.

Ms. Karanja says that unlike the past,members of the community can now accessany information or documents concerningthe project and are also encouraged to give

input in ideas and knowledge to ensure theprojects success.

An official of the new PMC who requestedanonymity says the biggest challenge thecommittee was facing was getting therelevant files, documents and informationconcerning the project.

He says apart from engaging the CDFCto release the remaining cash to completethe project, plans were underway toconstruct piping to the relevant estates andalso construction of community water kioskpoints.

The story of this state of affairs wasnot restricted to the London Gioto waterproject, since the PMC of the RhondaMarket has also been sacked by membersof the community due to similar problems.

Mr. John Momanyi who led a social auditteam from CEDGG says: The new PMC isbusy putting everything in order especiallythe documentation, records and other

information concerning the project. Asmembers of the community we are alreadyseeing a big difference now.

Momanyi says that for the first time

any member of the community can goand scrutinize the project files, ask anyquestions and get information that she/hemay require adding that priority has beenpegged on securing the title deed for the2.6 acre piece of land on which the marketstands.

The Constituencys CDF Fund ManagerPeter Gishira confirms that following theopening up of the CDFC to communitymembers in recent years, relations withthe communities and other stakeholdershad greatly improved and ironed outsuspicions.

Gishira says that although there were

a few PMCs across the constituency who were still reluctant to cooperate withmembers of the community, especially inbeing transparent and accountable in theirproject activities, they risked being thrownout of office by the communities.

A h CEDGG Soc At m n Nur Twn

Ln G j

Secrets mentality undermining CDF performance

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9/20

ByWANJIRUGIKONyO

The Proposed Constitution waspublished on Thursday 6th May, 2010and for the second time, it is left to

the Kenyan voter to decide the fate of the

document. One of the most contentiousissues of the 2005 was devolution. Then,many voters feared that devolution ormajimbo, would promote tribalism anddivide the country along ethnic lines.

This time around the playing field is verydifferent, many voters view devolutionas the key to equitable growth, creationof local job opportunities and improvedservice delivery. So will the proposedCounty Governments deliver?

What isDevolution?Devolution is a process that isgaining popularity worldwide as amechanism for bringing governmentcloser to citizens in order to enhance localservice delivery and local participation.

Devolution is one of three formsof decentralization. Decentralisationis the process through which centralgovernment transfers powers to localgovernments. These powers includeadministrative, financial and political.

AdministrativeAdministrative power decision making

power includes the power to employ anddiscipline staff, collection of planningdata to inform decisions made by centralgovernment, power to conduct functionssuch as registration of births, issuanceof IDs etc. The District DevelopmentCommittees under the District Focus forRural Development (DFRD) introducedin 1983 have been an example ofadministrative decentralisation inKenya.

Financial The Constituency Development Fund

(CDF) and Local Authority TransferFund (LATF) are examples of financialdevolution. Financial devolution meansthe transfer of finances from centralgovernment to the local level whereplanning priorities are made with citizenparticipation.

PoliticalPolitical devolution of power includes

the transfer of administrative, financialand political power to local governments.In this case the local government enjoysindependence to form its own parliament,appoint its own executive, make its laws

and manage its resources in accordancewith local needs but within the nationalgovernment framework.

The relationship between national andlocal government is one of subsidiarityand complementarity whereby localgovernment is fully responsible for theuse of local resources to meet localinterests to the extent that they arecomplementarity to overall nationalinterests. Thus central governmentretains overall responsibility to developpolicy and ensure accountable andeffective local government, but cannot

interfere with local governmentoperations unless local government isbreeching requirements of cohesion,accountability and national security.

For local government to work it requiresindependence, competent staff,effective citizen engagement, strongaccountability measures and sufficientresources.

Whats wrongwith Kenyasdecentralisation? The problem with Kenyas presentdecentralised/devolved institutions islargely that they suffer under excessivepolitical interference from centralgovernment and parliament, poor citizenparticipation, low capacity and resourcesspread out too thin across numerousschemes, and poor accountability.

Principlesof EffectiveDecentralization

When designing democraticdecentralization policies the followingfive key characteristics must be met.(i) constitutional policy and statutoryreforms to devolve power notonly to local governments butalso to local communities;(ii) Local governmentsc a p a c i t ystrengthened interms of finance,p e r s o n n e l ,organizationstructures,

management systems, data andinformation, facilities, networks etc;(iii) local government accountability toboth citizens and central government,transparency, and responsiveness; (iv)enhancing the role of civil society both atlocal level and national levels (practicing

what we prefer to call horizontaldecentralization) and (v) showing bothintent and progress in improving thequality of life of the local people (i.e.

enhancing peoples access to publicgoods and services).

To be effective devolved governmentsshould have autonomy and independencefrom the central government and oughtto have clear and legally recognizedgeographical boundaries over which toexercise authority and perform publicfunctions. The political frameworkgoverning the electoral process at thedevolved government level ought tofacilitate the direct participation ofthe users of services in the elections ofpolitical leaders; Clear and well definedchain of accountability of the devolved

governments to both the centralgovernment and the local communitiesand public services to the practicalextent should be devolved to the locallevel for the local communities to realizethe benefits of devolution.

From SPAN-KHRC report onHarmonization of DecentralizedDevelopment in Kenya: Proposalsto the National Assembly on theDecentralisation Sector of Kenya

Will County Governments Deliver?

H v l h Ppod

Csun hclg?

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Will County Gove

Overall Strengths

AutonomyThe governance structure is well definedand empowered to address local levelmanagement and leadership.

Under the proposed constitution thecounty government and its structuresare legally protected in the supremelaw of the land, which means they areprotected from political interference.

Boundaries cannot be changesarbitrarily; they can only be alteredthrough parliamentary and senateapproval.

Relationship betweenNational and CountyGovernment

There is established structure for theoperational relationships between thecounty and national governments whichincludes support from the nationalgovernments as well as accountabilityto the national government.

Neither the National Assembly nor theExecutive can determine operations ofthe counties through the law without

direct involvement of the Senate

The county governments haveindependence and autonomy inimplementation of their functions. TheNational Assembly in turn has power tooversee performance of counties.

The President is only empowered tosuspend a county in cases of war orother exceptional circumstances withSenate approval.

The Senate provides checks and balanceson the Executive and National Assemblyin regard to the removal of President

and Deputy President from office

Representation gender,disabilityIntegration and equity are core principlesof a county government through genderbalance, representation of marginalisedgroups, diversity and protection of minoritygroups in the county. This is provided forin the proposed constitution through directelections and special seats for women,youth and people with disabilities. No morethan two thirds of the county assembly can

be from one gender.

Sharing of Revenue There is established a Commissionon Revenue Sharing whose principal

function is to make recommendationsconcerning the basis for the equitablesharing of revenue raised by the national

government between the national andcounty governments and among thecounty governments.

The Counties are empowered toparticipate in determining revenueallocation through the Senate.

Not less than 15% of annual revenuecollected by the national governmentshall be allocated to county governmentsto enable them carry out theirfunctions.

During every financial year, 0.5% ofthe revenue collected by the national

government shall be paid into theestablished Equalization Fund to providebasic services including water, roads,health facilities and electricity in themarginalised areas.

County governments may be givenadditional allocations from the nationalgovernments share of the revenue eitherconditionally or unconditionally. Thisprovision allows for the continuation ofsuch funds as Local Authorities TransferFund (LATF) and Roads MaintenanceLevy Fund (RMLF) that currently arechannelled through Local Authorities.

Accountability There is a clear linkage as well as checksand balances between the county assemblyand county executive committee. All stateofficers are bound by provisions of theleadership and integrity chapter 6.

The proposed constitution provides foraccess to information for all state records.However, this provision will only become

operational three years after passage ofthe constitution.

Citizen participationThe proposed constitution provides thefollowing explicit provisions for publicinvolvement through direct election ofSenators and Governors.

Local communities are also empoweredto manage their own affairs and countygovernments are obligated to providesupport for this.

In the division of revenue members of

the public and professional bodies willbe invited to make their submissions

Public scrutiny of parliamentary andassembly proceedings is safeguarded.

Transition The phased implementation of thedevolved structures provides for capacitybuilding of county government to ensurethat county governments will not beassigned tasks they cannot perform

The commission implementing theconstitution is required to monitor the

implementation process. The proposed constitution providesfor the restructuring of the provincialadministration in line with the newcounty structure

Local Authorities will continue to exist,and subsequent legislation will dealwith their fate

An Analysis of County Government Struct

Committee of Expertson Constitutional ReviewKatiba Mpya, Kenya Moja

ROADMAP

21 d

21 days PS

21 days Committee t

21 day Consideration of vie

30 days Committee to publish its repor

160 days Consultations with reference groups

Thematic consultation on contentious issues

Identification of contentious issues and issues agreedResearch, studies, public views and consultations

Forwarding of namesof experts by PSC and the AU panel of eminent

14 days Shortlisting and interviewing candidates for positions as experts

Invitation to members of the public to apply for positions as experts at the committe

Committee

ROAD MAP TO ThE NEW CONSTITUTION OF KENyA

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nments Deliver?

Overall

Weaknesses The Proposed Constitution has somemissing links or weaknesses that havepotential to undermine its effectivenessin providing accountable leadershipand service delivery. These includeamong others:

Unit of Development is not defined: The draft does not expressly dealwith the Constituency DevelopmentFund and it is possible the membersof parliament may wish to continuethe fund parallel to the countystructure. Thus the strength of

county governments at local level will be determined by Parliament. Will parliamentarians be willing togive up the CDF in favour of strongcounty government?

Political appointees on revenuecommission undesirable: TheCommission on Revenue Allocationis comprised of political nominees. This is undesirable and is likely toundermine the professionalism ofthis very important body and mayresult in political horse-tradingor political wrangles which will

undermine development needs infund allocations.

Distance between citizen andcounty too wide: The counties arefew (47) and cover very wide areaswhich remain far removed from the ward level. Whereas this has the

benefit of reducing the cost burdenof supporting too many counties,it means the distance between the

citizen and county is very wide. There is no reporting mechanismbetween county governments andthe Senate: Apart from making laws,the Senate has no power to provide wider oversight to the countygovernments.

County Executive lack policy makingrole: The County Executive lacksexpress policy making powers/role,yet policy in a sound democraticsystem stems from the executive.

Proposed Constitution fails to

decentralise health, educationand administrative functions: Thenational government will stillmaintain some functions andservices that would better bemanaged and coordinated by thecountry governments in line withthe principle of subsidiarity such asprimary and secondary educationand primary health care. In regardto administrative devolution, thedraft does not provide for thedecentralisation functions or servicescarried out by central government or

its semi-autonomous agencies suchas issuance of IDs, birth certificates,etc.

It fails to enforce discipline inborrowing by Counties: Althoughthe draft provides for the borrowingpowers of the devolved governments,it does not restrict the county

governments from borrowing forrecurrent expenditure as it is the casecurrently with some local Authorities.

In principle the devolved governmentshould be given borrowing powersonly for infrastructure or capitalexpenditures

Fate of local authorities unclear:the proposed constitution does notexpressly provide for the transition ofexisting local government into countygovernments. This will depend onfuture parliamentary provisions.

Missing gaps: The Right of recall for Member ofParliament is provided but is notprovided for at Senate or county level. The Right to petition Parliament isprovided but is not provided for atCounty level.

Whereas the draft constitutionprovides for the taxation of all publicofficers including MPs it does not setupper limits on the amounts theyearn. This will be set by the salariescommission.

Whereas the draft providesfor introduction of freedom ofinformation legislation, it gives does

not give a time for the enactment ofthe law on right to information. Thismay delay the transparency of localgovernance and allow public officersto destroy records older than 6 yearsin line with the procurement law.

es in the Proposed Constitution of Kenya

14 days Publication and pomulgation of the new constitution of kenya

2 days Notification of the publication Referendum results by IIEC

30 days Referendum

30 days Committee to conduct civic education

Declaration of referendum date by IIEC

20 days The AG to publish the Draft Constitution

0 days The National Assembly to approve the Draft Constitution

PSC to table the report before the National Assembly

ach an agreement on the draft and have the Committee review the draft and resubmit it to the PSC

ent the draft to PSC

he public and integration of views of the Draft and the Report

harmonized draft

ns to the National Assembly

erts on Constitutional Review www.coekena.co.ke

Graphic,coutesywww.coekenya.go.ke

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TheExecutive

Presidentialsystem

-Powerfulpresidentwhoisalsocommanderinchief

Appointscabinet

andAttorneyGeneralwithparliamentaryap

proval

Powertodismiss

cabinet,AttorneyGeneral

NationalAssembly

349membersofparliament-290

membersthrough

directelections,47women

elected

thr

oughcounties,12nominatedbypoliticalparties,Speaker

Fun

ctions:

Makesnationallaws

Approvesnationalbudgetandgovernmentexpenditure

Overseesgovernmentexpenditureandperformance

Approvespresidentialappointments

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Membersdirectlyelectedbythewards(1perward)

Specialseatsto

ensurethatnomorethantwothirdsisfrom

onegender

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unctions

Preparationoflegislationandpolicy

OversightoverC

ountyExecutiveanditsorgans

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pproveplansandpoliciesformanagement

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HeadedbyGovernorwhoisdirectlyelecte

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unctions

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untability

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Representscounties,protectsinterestsof

thecountiesandtheirgovernments

Consistsof67members,47memberselecteddirectlyfrome

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embersnominatedbypolitical

parties,2youthrepresentatives,2represe

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Participatesinthelaw

makingprocesswiththeNationalAssemblyonallmattersrela

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iontoremovethePresidentorDeputyPresi

dentfromo

ffice.


13/20

ByDORAH NESOBA

In July 2009, the Ministry of State forPlanning National Development and Vision2030 (MOPND) established a taskforce toreview CDF performance. The task force

was to conclude its duties which includedconsidering the existing institutional

framework and how it can be strengthenedin order to promote accountability andtransparency in the administration of theCDF by October 2009. However, its duration

was extended to December 31, 2009through Gazette Notice No. 10659 datedOctober7, 2009.

By admission of Planning MinisterWycliffe Oparanya, during the launch of thetaskforce on July 23 last year CDF reformis long overdue. Mr. Oparanya noted thatthere is low utilization of completedfacilities especially educational and healthinstitutions and cattle dips due to lack of

collaboration with line ministries especiallyon staff requirements.

He also cited weak capacity to identify viable projects; low technical capacity toimplement development projects; poormanagement of transition during elections;low utilization of technical officers in theimplementation of projects; too many smallprojects thinly spread with little or lowimpact; financial control; undue interferenceand corruption / embezzlement.

At issue are questions that rangefrom the capacity at constituency level,to frameworks of accountability andimplications of an expanded mandate

for elected representatives. On capacity,a key legitimate concern is on whetherconstituencies are equipped and preparedto appropriately handle the accompanyingdevelopment responsibility that accrues

with the resource allocations that covereducational, health and infrastructureservices among others.

As Mr. Oparanya noted at the taskforce launch, It is possible that theexisting implementation structure may beoverwhelmed and many of these resourcesmay remain unutilised or at worse misused.

Also owing to the fact that although the fund

has largely been a success, there have beenseveral legal and administrative challengesthat have impeded the attainment of evengreater success.

Mr. Oparanya also pointed out that the

CDF Program had over 35,000projects in various stages ofcompletion established throughoutthe country in July of last year.

The impact of these projects isalready being felt especially in thekey sectors funded by CDF like

Education (around 38% of CDFallocations), Health (11%) and

Water (8%). To a large extent,these are projects that have beenidentified by the community onpriority basis and their completionand utilisation should therefore besatisfying genuine needs.

The Minister singled out the poor interfacebetween CDF and other devolved funds atthe constituency. This is a problem yet tobe addressed and now with the increasedresources to the constituency, the problemis bound to be complex.

The taskforce was chaired by former OlKalou MP Muriuki Karue, the architect ofthe CDF concept during his tenure in theNinth Parliament. Besides conductingpublic hearings in selected parts of thecountry the task force printed over 250,000questionnaires made available in chiefscamps for the members. The Committee

was tasked with recommending reviews ofthe CDF Act 2003 and the CDF Amendment

Act 2007 and to come up with strengthened ways to enhance accountability and sealgaps that can lead to the misuse of thefunds.

Research reports such as those of the

Social and Public Accountability Network(SPAN, February 2010) and the National Taxpayers CDF Citizens Reports Cards releasedin April this year and practical experienceon the ground also point towards theproblems of poor citizen participation,collusion, double funding, over pricing andother forms of corruption as well as poorplanning.

Can we count on our word Mr Minister?

The Institute for Social Accountabilityhas since established that the ProjectManagement Committees through whichCDF implements its programs are not

recognised under the Ministry of Financeprocurement regulations and are thereforeoperating illegally throughout the country.In a report entitled GROSS ILLEGALITIES INCONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT FUND NEED

URGENT REDRESS and presented to theofficial stakeholders in December of 2009,

TISA National Coordinator Wanjiru Gikonyocalled upon the National Institutions tourgently resolve the gross illegalities andcontradictions in CDF management. Thereport noted that CDF spending is notsubject to audit, and reporting requirements

are routinely abused contributing towidespread corruption in the fund.

The need for reform of CDF is all themore pressing as increased resources arebeing spent through its framework. Thatnotwithstanding the Minister of Planninghas failed to publish the report, leadingcritics to conclude that the review exercise

was merely a publicity exercise and thepolitical will to reform the contentious fundis lacking.

According to unofficial sources, the 18-member task force is believed to have madefar-reaching proposals with the potentialto significantly bolster rural development in

Kenya. This report is now with the Ministerof Planning, Hon Oparanya, awaitingofficial release.

Mr. Minister, as we approach a newfinancial year it is unfortunate that CDF willcontinue with its present shortcomings.Failing to publish the report is a betrayal ofthe mandate of your office and contradictsyour stated intention to to strengthen themanagement structures of the devolvedfunds so that the general masses mayderive maximum benefit from them. Can

we count on your word Mr. Minister?

Cn cut n ud M. M?

Missing! CDF Task Force Report

PMCs such as Lengenet Dispensary, duringthe 2007-8 transition. CEDGG also notesthat most PMCs have failed to adhereto required reporting standards such aspreparation of work plans.

Its noteworthy that maintenanceof proper records is critical for smoothtransitions during elections or appointmentof new committees, says the report.

Administrative carelessness is costingRongai families dearly as women continueto die alongside incomplete maternalfacilities.

Sound reporting and record keeping iscrucial for accountability and transparency.

Yet the CDF Board invests very littleresources in training CDF committees oncompliance, and does not take any actionagainst committees which do not comply.

Subsequent to the publishing of the socialaudit report, area MP Luka Kigen promisedto source funding for the expansion ofRongai maternity wing.

According to the Clinical Officer In-Charge,the legislator is pushing for the allocationof Kshs. 23 million to the project, up fromthe current Kshs. 4.4 million allocation.

There is speculation that this may be thefrom the Ksh 20million Economic Stimulusmoney released by the Ministry of Financeto each constituency this financial year.

Whatever the source, the communityare desperate for a quick intervention.

The longer it takes to raise the funds, themore women continue to lose their lives topreventable maternal related causes suchas high blood pressure, bleeding, infection,and the absence of well-equipped health

workers.

Mr. Kigen should make good his promiseand make women a priority for healthspending. The more Rongai invests inmaternal health, the healthier and bettereducated their families will become and thestronger and more prosperous the Rongai

communities shall be. That is development.

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14/20

ByWANJIRUGIKONyO

The acrimonious Constituency DevelopmentFund is touted as Kenyas most successfullocal development initiative.

Indeed the African Peer ReviewMechanism (APRM) Kenya report of 2006cited CDF as one of Africas most innovativelocal development creations.

Many African countries are following suitin setting up their own CDF type creations,

to the chagrin of a majority of Kenyans, who whilst appreciative of the benefitsrealised under CDF, are deeply angeredby Parliaments continued refusal to cedecontrol of the fund despite widespreadreports of abuse and mismanagement ofthe fund.

CDF vs. Local Government Legislative

Bulling

The role of the MP as implementer ofthe fund breaches the rule of separationof powers between the three arms ofgovernment and has resulted in the

widespread politicisation of CDF.

Whereas CDF has been successfulin completing many infrastructuredevelopment projects which dot thedevelopment landscape of the country, itsmanagement is riddled with corruptionand controversy.

The community project committeesof the fund remain a weak link in CDFsimplementation and have a very pooraccountability record.

Their legal status also remains unclearas the procurement law fails to recognise

them as procurement entities and theytherefore operate illegally.

Since its inception CDF has also been indirect competition with Local Authorities(LAs).

The administrative boundaries betweenLAs and the constituency overlap resultingin duplication of projects.

The CDF, like the Council is a sector wide development program and supports

projects in all sectors, but CDFs fortunesrise while those of the Councils continueto dim.

A case in point; under the 2009-10 Budgetthe Minister of Finance quietly reallocatedroads construction funds to the CDF.

The Local government bursaries werequietly scrapped a few years ago, in contrastto the CDF bursary allocation which wasincreased from 5 to 10%.

Local government officials are a worriedlot. Parliament seems to have scriptedthe certain demise of Local Government inKenya and has used its legislative vantagepoint to bully for increased allocations tothe CDF.

The disbursement of the Kshs. 22 billionEconomic Stimulus Package through theCDF framework was telling.

Local government officials are justifiablyapprehensive about their chances of survivalif the Proposed Constitution of Kenya doesnot go through and equally unsure of theirfate if it does.

Bad development

Territorial wars aside, the parallel

development schemes make for baddevelopment especially because theirrespective mandates overlap.

The political hostility between LAsand CDF undermines any chances ofcollaborative planning. For the citizen thismeans that their resources are spread thinand project decisions politically motivatedand often not responsive to real needs.

CDF nominally has good structures for

community development, but the localcommittees are largely captured by thelocal elite and so in reality communityparticipation in CDF remains poor.

Despite over Kshs. 150 million beingallocated to every constituency in thepresent financial year under three schemesalone, the decisions guiding spendingdecisions are influenced by politicalexpediency- this is bad for the tax payerand bad for development.

So w does CDF work?

Three key reasons why CDF works isbecause the amount allocated to the fund is

constant and secured. Unlike districts andlocal government that depend on centralgovernment to determine the amountthey will receive in any given year, the CDFamount is guaranteed.

Secondly, CDF has a very leanadministrative structure and only 7%of the total expenditure goes towardsadministrative costs. However, thislean administration creates a sense offalse economy because CDF lacks theneeded technical expertise to successfully

CDF: Is parliament ready to let go of the cash cow?

solomonomondia resident of Westlandsconstituency expects CDF to continue under thenew constitution. Before CDF, funds were nottrickling down to the mwananchi. MPs haveplayed a role in the benefits to Kenyans andshould continue overseeing the funds usage.

Peninah ahulula. According to me CDF shouldbe retained because it benefits the community.I have seen a number of needy children whosefees has been paid by the bursary committees.However, MPs should be expelled from the fund

because wanaangalia watu wao pekee.christoPhernjomo:A Nairobi resident expects CDF tocontinue after passage of the new Constitution butis of the opinion that MPs should not handle CDFmoney because they do not know the real issuesafflicting citizens at the grassroots. I propose thatCDF management should be left to communitiesbecause they are closer to the people on the ground.

Citing the example of a maternity clinic in Kangeminext to the social hall which is complete but notin use due to lack of equipment, Kennedy ochiengsays CDF is a good initiative that he expects tocontinue but would like to see politicians out. Hesays there are many projects that have stalled

because of poor planning. He recommends nonpartisan professionals to manage the fund at constituency level.

As forcaroline lusegafrom Hamisi constituencybut residing in Nairobi, CDF should be retained

under the new constitution because it hasbenefited citizens through various projects like

hospitals and water projects. She credits MPs forthe proper planning and management and says

they should continue handling CDF money.

19-year-old college student eric munenegives CDFthe thumbs up. CDF should continue because it has

benefited the community in various ways includingconstruction of public toilets and maintenance

of roads. This is due to the MPs patronage,he notes saying MPS should continue being

patrons and constituting the CDF committees.

geoFFreymugo, a resident of Dagorreti Constituency saysCDF should not be retained under the new Constitution

because it only benefits a minority of Kenyans such asrelatives and cronies of the area MP, CDFC and PMCs.

A Journalist and Gender Consultantmildred Barasa,expects CDF to be retainedunder the new Constitution. I have seen

many documentaries and features on thetransformation of ordinary Kenyans lives. It is

an initiative that was long overdue. SupposingCDF was put in the hands of professionals,

how much more would be its benefits? poses Mildredwho wants politicians bundled out of the fund.

To participate in tis poll, visit www.tisa.or.ke or SMS 0202445489 wit our views.

Should MPs continue handling CDF?

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r.ke

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A number of MPs interviewed by LocalDevelopment Monitor are in agreementthat CDF should be retained since it is astatutory matter provided for by an Act ofParliament.

Five of the MPs among them Immigrationand Registration of Persons Minister andMbita MP Otieno Kajwang; Gender andChildren Affairs Minister Esther MurugiMathenge who is MP for Nyeri Town; Chairof the Parliamentary Select Committee onCDF, the Constituency Fund Committee

(CFC) and Turkana Central MP EkweeEthuro; Nominated MP Millie Odhiamboand Kieni MP Nemesyus Warugongosupport passage of a newConstitution.

Lands Assistant Ministerand Bumula MP Wakoli Bifwolisaid he was still readingthe proposed document indetail to enable him makean informed decision. Hiscolleagues said they werefamiliar with its contents and

would support its passage.

Murugi says she supportsthe Constitution although she would have recommendedone or two amendments.

Warugongo says 96% of the Constitutionis good save for what some people arereferring to as contentious issues. Kadhiscourts are in the current Constitution and ifKenyans reject the proposed Constitution,

we will still have the Kadhis courts andladies will continue having back streetabortions.

All the six MPs say the main objective ofthe Fund is to ensure that 2.5% of all theGovernment ordinary revenue collected in

a financial year is devotedto grassroots developmentfor the purpose of reducingpoverty and ensuringequitable distribution ofresources.

Ethuro expects CDF to

continue being in existence because it waspassed by a specific Act of Parliament, asentiment that Murugi; Kajwang; Millieand Wakoli concur with. Murugi says, Myunderstanding is MPs are still patrons ofCDF while counties manage the funds ofthe county.

They say the new Constitution has notrepealed CDF meaning it should continuebeing disbursed through constituencies.

Wakoli notes, Unless it is mentionedin the proposed Constitution that it is

being done away with, it will continuebeing in existence. It is not in the CurrentConstitution and yet we have CDF.

Warugongo expects CDF to be there afterthe passage of the new Constitution saying,

We need more money at the Constituencylevel and although there are a few casesof abuse and misuse of funds, the moneydoes not equal the other 97.5% that is used

by the Government year inand year out.

On MPs role in CDF, Milliesays the new Constitutiondoes not say who should

handle the money because itdoes not talk about CDF. We will need an amendment to

state who the patron is andwho appoints committees.

Wakoli says the only way MPs handle themoney is indirectly because they appointcommittees which can choose to work withthe MP or do things the way they deem fit.

Warugongo says MPs should continue withtheir current mandate as provided for inthe Act.

Kajwang on the otherhand notes that CDF hassignificantly changed

development dynamics at thecommunity level and now, theconstituency has increasinglybecome an important unit ofengagement.

Because of the positive evaluation bybeneficiaries of CDF, other developing

countries are emulating the Kenyanconcept and have legislated similarprograms in Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana.Can countries emulate a failure?

He adds that counties will enhancerather than reduce the benefits derivedfrom CDF. Even the county will put theirmoney in constituency projects. Someprojects will run with assistance of the CDFcommittees just as the Economic StimulusProgramme, the Roads kitty and the HIV/

AIDS kitty among others which are running

in collaboration with CDF.Ethuro also sees no conflict between

county governments, CDF and other devolvedfunds noting that other democracies likeUganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Tanzaniahave regions or devolved units which areallocated funds. If anything, money willbe a resource to develop the area, saysEthuro.

He adds that CDF is not as bad as peopleare painting it and cites the example of theEconomic Stimulus Programme which hasfailed to achieve its objectives, Kenyansneed to give credit where it lies.

Ethuro adds that CDFs main objective was poverty alleviation and controllingimbalances in allocation of resources, wedo not expect that the passage of theconstitution will immediately ensure thereis equity in the country, poverty will notdisappear overnight, says Ethuro urgingKenyans to have faith in their leadership.

Why do we spend millions of shillings onelecting representatives to Parliament? TheNew Constitution is giving the Presidentpowers to appoint Ministers from outsideParliament and that is why we should trustour MPs to appoint a 15 member team that

will help them del iver at the CDF level.

Millie says the new Constitution willstate what goes where so each devolvedfund has its percentage clearly stipulated.

Contribute to the debate at

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CDF here to stay, MPs say

The Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is one of thedevolved funds in Kenya. CDF is guided by The CDF Act2003and CDF Amendment Act 2007. The government sets asideat least 2.5% of its ordinary revenue for disbursement underthe CDF program. Three quarters of the amount is dividedequitably between Kenya\rquote s 210 constituencies whilstthe remaining 1/4th is divided based on a poverty indexto cater for poorer constituencies. In the 2010-11 financialyear, the average amount to each constituency was Ksh

60million.

CDF is managed by the CDF Fund Committee (CDFC) atthe constituency level. This committee is appointed by theMember of Parliament. CDF is implemented by ProjectManagement Committees (PMCs) at project level. PMCsshould be appointed by the public.

implement all its projects and suffers veryhigh non-completion rates.

CDF also enjoys more autonomy than thelocal government and district structures.Decisions are made quickly and actionedswiftly.

In constituencies where MPs put in placeeffective committees, it performs pretty

well. In other words CDF is more effectivelydevolved than the other schemes and that

is what the Proposed New Constitutionof Kenya has sought to achieve with theproposed county structure.

Kss. 13 billion per Count under proposed

law

The Draft commits a minimum of 15% ofannual government revenue towards thecounties.

Going by projected estimates for2009-10 Kshs. 629 billion projected revenue

would translate into Kshs. 13.3 billion percounty, an equivalent of Kshs. 2 billion perconstituency.

Allowing for recurrent expenditure of halfof this amount, this should translate intoKshs. 7 billion in development per countyper year, an equivalent of Kshs. 1 billion perconstituency.

Not bad at all for a minimum. Theexpectation is that once counties establishtheir effectiveness and stability, the amounttransferred to the county from centralgovernment will increase. Ultimately the

effectiveness of these resources will dependon the impending legislation.

Can parliament be trusted to empower

counties?

The proposed constitution also does not ruleout parallel development structures andparliament may lobby for the continuanceof CDF alongside county development.

They may argue that counties are nearerto the electorate and that the lowest unit ofdevelopment should be the constituency.

A recent statement by Hon EkweEthuro and an earlier statement by Agnes

Odhiambo the CEO of the CDF Board thatCDF will continue after the passage ofthe new constitution is an indication thatParliament has no intention of letting go ofits cash cow, at least not without a fight.

Read more on this at www.tisa.or.ke

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M. Mi g cpn hc d t lg gd h

ByPASCALINE NDILA

MWINGI playing ground plot no.3157 islocated in the heart of Mwingi town andis an historical piece of land that lies inthe middle of two constituencies; MwingiNorth and South.

The land was originally used foragricultural purposes but was laterconverted to a playing ground whenthe owner, Musee Nguue, gave it to the

community in the 1950s long before titledeeds were allocated to land owners. Sincethen, the land has been used for sportingactivities and other public activities such as

meetings.Being a prime area for business activities,

the land attracted the attention of privatedevelopers as well as the area councillors

who had the intention of sharing it amongstthemselves. However, their attempts werethwarted by the local community.

Local officials of the Kenya FootballFederation (KFF); Mwingi Traders Associationand the Centre for Human Rights and CivicEducation (CHRCE) all spearheadedthe fight against the

injustice.

T h e

councillors

of Mwingi had earlier hived out some ofthe land and sold it to private developersand subdivided the rest of the land into 18plots which they planned to share amongstthemselves.

When Yummen, a private developer

erected a fence across a portion of theland, their plot was foiled as the thensports officer, Mr. Makau Kimani tipped offthe stakeholders that the land was being

grabbed.

The community decided it was timeto act and in February 2002, CHRCEorganized a community demand forum

with help from other like mindedorganizations such as Kenya humanrights commission (KHRC) and Mwingi

Traders Association.

The community demand forum wasin the form of a demonstration which

took place on a market day forcing allactivities at the market and the entireMwingi town to come to a standstillas traders joined locals and marchedthrough the town protesting againstthe attempted land grabbing that wouldhave left them without a playing groundfor their children.

The councillors had no option but tosuccumb to pressure and surrenderedthe land back to the community.

In 2002, area Members of ParliamentDavid Musila and Kalonzo Musyoka helda meeting at the playing ground whereMr. Kalonzo proposed that the ground be

renamed Musila gardens.In financial year 2005/2006, both MPs

allocated money from their CDF kitties witheach allotting Kshs. 500,000 to transformthe playing ground into the Musilagardens.

According to Daniel Muoti a CHRCEofficer and Joseph Mutua, a resident ofMwingi this change of name and use ofthe land was a way of perpetuating thegrabbing of the land.

Since this project was meant to giveboth Musila and Kalonzo political mileage,they also constituted their own committee

and thus the project was not managedin line with the CDF act that stipulatesthat if a project is to be funded jointlyby two different CDF committees, it isa must that the project be coordinatedby the district project committee,the two explain.

Following this turnof events, CHRCE

with support fromthe community

went to court

in January 2007 and sued the Mwingi TownCouncil that was cited as the owner of theparcel of land no.3157.

The legal action was aimed at stoppingthe council from changing the use of theplayground into a garden.

Consent to sue the council was givenby the district land adjudication andsettlement officer for Mwingi, but due tocorruption we lost the case, reminisces theCHRCE officer.

This setback did not make them losehope; they later engaged other like mindedparties to file a new suit which they toolost.

A meeting was later held at the districtcommissioners office to inform thestakeholders of the plans to develop theplaying ground into a park.

At this meeting, the sports officer, KFF

officials, Mwingi traders and officials fromcentre for human rights and civic education(CHRCE) were invited.

The arguments presented by thestakeholders and the committee membersled to a number of resolutions, whichincluded: The name of the field would remainMwingi playing ground, the committee

would be expanded to include the sportsofficer, Kenya Football Federation (Mwingi)official, and a human rights representativeamong others and that the dais which wasbeing constructed in the middle of the field

would be relocated to an area outside thefootball pitch.

According to Stephen Kampuni who wasthe chairman of the committee formedby the two Members of Parliament, hiscommittee was disbanded by Mwingi SouthMP Mr. Musila.

Our committee was disbanded forall

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