New law to nail MPs over CDF

“The CDF administration will be done through a board that has a chief executive. The board will help in the control and application of the CDF.”

Mrs Mabhiza said presently the CDF was being dealt with under the Public Finance Management Act, making it impossible for Government to jail its abusers.
“As a result, we had to revert to the Criminal Law and Codification Reform Act, which we have pointed out to be a weaker legal statute. Moreover, MPs do not fall under the Public Finance Management Act,” she said.
“The new law, if enacted, will help us in dealing with those who think that they are off the hook. No one will go scot-free because these funds are meant to develop constituencies not self-aggrandisement.”

Mrs Mabhiza said there would be no CDF distribution to the legislators this year.
“As you saw, Finance Minister (Tendai Biti) in his Mid-Term Policy Statement did not provide for CDF distribution. It means constituencies will not benefit anything this financial year,” she said.

“It is our hope that as more resources come, the money will be availed as it benefits ordinary Zimbabweans in their respective constituencies.”
Mrs Mabhiza said 95 constituencies had been fully audited and a lot of irregularities had been unearthed.
Zimbabwe has 210 constituencies.

“The auditors are in Mashonaland East at the moment where we hope to cover 22 constituencies by next week,” said Mrs Mabhiza.
“Our projection is to finish by year end that is if Treasury continues giving us our budgetary allocations.
“We continue to receive a lot of complaints and tip-offs from people from various constituencies and this is a cause for concern.”

Four MPs, Albert Mhlanga (MDC-T Pumula), Marvellous Khumalo (MDC-T St Mary’s), Cleopas Machacha (MDC-T Kariba) and Franco Ndambakuwa (Zanu-PF Magunje), were early this year arrested by the Anti-Corruption Commission and appeared in court.
Charges against Ndambakuwa and Mhlanga were withdrawn before plea and the State will proceed by way of summons when the dockets are ready.

Cases against Machacha and Khumalo are still pending. Minister Biti allocated US$8 million for the CDF in the 2010 budget under which the MPs received US$50 000 each for the development of their constituencies.