adminConstitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Advocate Eric Matinenga said yesterday although they have to wait for the end of the audit being carried in the constituencies which may take a while, they would deal with the culprits.
“I must expressly say if there has been criminal behaviour in the use of the funds, then the law will take its course and the courts will deal with the matters,” said Adv Matinenga.
He lamented that the audit would not end any time soon, as they have only two teams of four people each carrying out the exercise in 210 constituencies.
Adv Matinenga said that no one has been found guilty yet of abusing the funds.
In July last year, the Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs began an audit of the CDF accounts of the legislators who remitted their reports.
Only 133 parliamentarians had submitted their CDF returns out of the 210 constituencies that were allocated US$50 000 each for developmental projects by October last year when the Government temporarily ran out of money to continue with the audit.
The ministry has also been holding capacity building workshops and seminars in individual provinces, with MPs reporting on what they were doing.
Reports of Parliamentarians abusing the CDF have been rife, with some MPs being accused of converting the funds to personal use by their constituents.
Last year, Adv Matinenga said that he would not hesitate to name and shame MPs who have not accounted for the money they got from the CDF, but he has not yet released the names of the defaulters.
The CDF is expected to be pegged at US$66 000 per constituency this year, but will only be made available to those who have submitted their returns.
Online Reporter