In the appeal, the National Assembly intends to challenge all the findings of the High Court with regard to the constitutionality of the NG-CDF Act 2015.
The National Assembly on Friday, September 20 revealed that it will appeal a decision of the High Court that declared the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) unconstitutional.
In a statement, it was revealed that the National Assembly’s legal team requested a copy of the Judgement and court proceedings with the intention to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.
In the appeal, the National Assembly intends to challenge all the findings of the High Court with regard to the constitutionality of the NG-CDF Act 2015.
In their judgement, Justices Kanyi Kimondo, Roselyn Aburili and Mugure Thande also gave the current NGCDF a gross period of one year and eight months lapsing at midnight on June 30, 2026, when the Fund will cease to exist, for the completion of all pending NG-CDF projects.
In front of the Judiciary building in Nairobi. /THE JUDICIARY
“The National Assembly will also apply for the stay of the declaration of the unconstitutionality of the NGCDF Act, pending the hearing and determination of the intended Appeal,” stated the National Assembly in part.
The Petition was filed in 2016 by Katiba Institute among other petitioners, challenging the legality of the NG-CDF Act 2015, on among other grounds, that the Fund violates the principles of Public Finance and alleged breach of the doctrine of separation of powers among others.
The National Assembly expressed its intention to challenge the verdict on all the grounds cited by the Petitioners and allowed by the Court.
The three-judge bench ruled that the Constitution of Kenya does not give the National Assembly the power to implement functions at the constituency level. It also found that the NGCDF Act created multiple activities or wastage of scarce resources.
“For all the above reasons and conclusions, we now make the following declarations, that the National Government Constituency Development Fund Act of 2015 as amended in 2022, and 2023 is hereby declared unconstitutional,” stated the three-judge bench.
Justice Thande who dissented on the decision to extend NGCDF’s lifespan argued that extending the fund beyond the financial year would allow the continuation of a matter that has been declared illegal.
The CDF fund was introduced in 2003 after the late former President Mwai Kibaki took power in December 2002. The fund was designed to support constituency-level, grassroots development projects and was aimed to achieve equitable distribution of development resources across regions and to control imbalances in regional development brought about by partisan politics.
It targeted all constituency-level development projects, particularly those aiming to combat poverty at the grassroots.
The CDF program facilitated the putting up of new water, health and education facilities in all parts of the country, including remote areas that were usually overlooked during funds allocation in national budgets.
The Act provided that the government set aside at least 2.5 per cent of its ordinary revenue for disbursement under the CDF program.
Three-quarters of the amount was divided equitably between Kenya’s 210 constituencies whilst the remaining 1/4th was divided based on a poverty index to cater for poorer constituencies.
It was renamed the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). This meant that there was more money for schools and security-related projects such as police stations and police posts, as well as bursaries.
A logo of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF). /TENDER YETU
