MPs demand for Constituency Development Fund Bill

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Members of Parliament want government to table a bill on the Constituency Development Fund-CDF.

This came up during the 3rd Annual Legislature Sector Review under the Theme: – Legislating for the good governance and sustainable development held at Hotel Africana, Kampala on Wednesday.

It stemmed from a session on the draft workbook on the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association-CPA recommended benchmarks for democratic legislatures in 26 members states, including Uganda.

The CPA and technical team spearheaded by the Directorate of Research is seeking views of staff, MPs, civil society and media on the workbook, which has considered 40 out of the 316 recommended benchmarks as applicable to Uganda’s parliament.

One of the CPA recommended benchmarks states that the “legislature shall provide all legislators with adequate and appropriate resources to enable them fulfill their constituency responsibilities”.

However, the draft workbook has a comment from the technical team led by the Director for Research, Moses Bisase that Parliament provides resources such as constituency staff, office space, travel costs and Information Technology and Communication services to MPs so that they fulfill their responsibilities in an adequate manner.

Bisase notes that the resources are inadequate and therefore, Parliament has moderately implemented the CPA recommended benchmark.

Legislators led by the West Budama South MP, Jacob Oboth however asked the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association-CPA Representative, Dhar Meenakshi on the experiences of parliaments such as Kenya with CDF and whether it can work in Uganda.

Meenakshi said CDF has had mixed reactions in various countries with some like Kenya and Jamaica running them smoothly while some have had issues of accountability and interference from MPs who wanted to divert the monies.

Dr. Tom Wanyakala, one of the participants in the sector review opposed the re-introduction of CDF in Uganda, saying MPs should concentrate on their legislative roles.

Oboth also explained why Kenya has successfully implemented the CDF.

Oboth says government should bring a bill to Parliament so that CDF can be re-introduced for the benefit of constituencies. He told Uganda Radio Network-URN that when the Parliamentary Commission presented its 2019/2020 financial year budget, it proposed the re-introduction of the CDF in the next Parliament.

He now says that government should bring the bill to provide an enabling law for the fund, which the Parliamentary Commission scrapped in 2011 due to the lack of a supportive legal framework and accountability by MPs.

Each MP would get Shillings 10 million per year as CDF. However, the Parliamentary Commission noted lack of accountability and misuse of the fund by some MPs, which prompted its decision to scrap it off. The Commission justified its decision arguing that it would save Shillings 3.7 billion a year that was meant for CDF, which would be used for other purposes such as constructing the parking lot on the Southern wing of Parliament Chamber.

The fund was proposed by President Yoweri Museveni in 2005 following complaints from MPs about several demands from their electorate including building schools, paying school fees and funeral costs among other requests.

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