NG-CDF Marks 20th Anniversary Since Inception

President William Ruto today officiated celebrations to mark the 20th Anniversary of the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF).

While speaking at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, the President lauded former Olkalou Member of Parliament Eng. Muriuki Karue whose private member motion in the National Assembly had paved the way for the enactment of the CDF Act, 2003.

He said that the Fund was established in response to decades of development disparities which disproportionately disadvantaged some regions.

“The fund has lived up to its mandate by rectifying decades of neglect through establishing development projects in the grassroots,” the President said.

The Head of State noted that NG-CDF has, among other projects, overseen the construction of 61 new campuses of the Kenya Medical Training College while improving the capacity of 14 old campuses.

He thanked the NG-CDF Board for fostering financial propriety by using only 6 per cent of their allocated funds on administrative expenses.

“NG-CDF has shown us all that it is possible to keep recurrent expenditure at 35 per cent of our revenues,’ Dr Ruto said, adding that the government will expand the projects’ scope to cover ICT and other functions.

National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u underscored the impact that NG-CDF has made in the two decades since its inception.

He assured that the National Treasury would disburse any outstanding funds to the constituencies before the end of the 2023/2024 Financial Year.

“NG-CDF has provided Kenyans an opportunity to flourish and its track record resonates well with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda,” Prof. Ndung’u said

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said that the impact of the NG-CDF has been felt countrywide

He urged the NG-CDF Board to remain committed to fund management to ensure the fund continues to grow.

“We will work together with legislators to expand the scope of NG-CDF to realize more development,” Mr. Wetang’ula said.