Luveve, Cowdray Park youths to benefit from CDF

Allan Foti
YOUTHS in the Luveve-Cowdray Park constituency are in line to benefit from the Constitutional Development Fund (CDF) through wages for work they will be contracted to do on various projects.

The constituency is among 10 that have had their applications for CDF approved by Parliament. Luveve-Cowdray Park Member of Parliament, Honourable Ntandoyenkosi Mlilo said he has held several key consultations with stakeholders that include civic leaders, residents leaders, religious leaders as well as school development representatives in the constituency to identify priority areas for the grant ahead of his application and among the key suggestions was a need to address the dire unemployment rate in what is one of the largest constituencies in the country both by size and population.

Hon Mlilo said the consultations had indentified service provision such as sewer reticulation, water and electricity provision and poor road networks as some of the key issues that need to be addressed in the constituency. He said following this resolution by stakeholders, it was also realised that unemployment could be addressed through the employment of local youths in local projects.

“Before I made my application to Parliament for the CDF grant, I consulted various stakeholders in my constituency in an effort to come up with an application that would address the critical problems faced by my community. We then agreed that in the implementation of various projects to address these problems, we would engage local youths in an effort to alleviate the crippling unemployment rate in Luveve-Cowdray Park,” Hon Mlilo told Sunday News.

Hon Mlilo said the grant would be used to improve services and facilities at schools, clinics and bridges. The said stakeholders took into consideration the meagre grant for a big constituency such as theirs and agreed to work on only the direst of issues affecting the constituency.

The fund will be used to provide locally manufactured furniture to schools as well as drilling two boreholes in Cowdray Park and one each in Gwabalanda and Luveve. It will also go towards improving ablution facilities at schools in Ward 15 and 16 and providing a foul run for Luveve High School.

The Member of Parliament said all these projects would be staffed by local youth who will be paid through the funds from the grant.

“All our projects including the improvement of ablution facilities at schools in Ward 15 and 16 and the maintenance of bridges and sanitary lanes will be done by youth in the constituency. Their wages will be paid from the CDF grant to ensure that the unemployed also benefit from this Parliamentary privilege,” he said.

Hon Mlilo applauded Parliament and Government for ensuring that the CDF grant is available for Parliamentarians to use towards the development of their communities. He also called on the local municipality to expeditiously address the poor road network in his constituency which has remain underdeveloped despite several engagements with local council. -@AllanFoti