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Nyemudzai Kakore, Harare Bureau
Parliament will put in place stringent measures to protect the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) against abuse by Members of Parliament, Clerk of Parliament Mr Kennedy Chokuda said yesterday.
Responding to questions on Parliament’s role regarding CDF, Mr Chokuda said as soon as the piece of legislation to oversee the funds was put in place, Parliament would disburse the funds as legislators were ready to develop their constituencies.
Questioned if the funds disbursed would not be abused by some Members of Parliament as what happened in the past when legislators converted the funds to personal use, Mr Chokuda said the House would guard against any abuse and would account for every cent. “We would want the Constituency Development Fund legislation as soon as possible since members of parliament have lots of things to do in their Constituencies,” he said.
He said since the money is disbursed through Parliament, it would be the responsibility of Parliament to account for the funds and ensure they are used for their intended purpose.
“The legislation will set processes and procedures to be followed that are able to account for every cent,” said Mr Chokuda.
His sentiments come after Treasury allocated more than $30 million to Parliament, which will be channelled to CDF development.
CDF disbursements were stopped after the then MDC Finance Minister Tendai Biti and his counterpart the then Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Advocate Eric Matinenga by-passed Parliament and disbursed the money directly to MPs.
Mr Biti disbursed the money to Adv Matinenga’s Ministry, which then deposited the money into the MPs accounts leading to the abuse.
Some MPs used the money to buy personal vehicles and other assets instead of funding development projects in their areas.
Presenting the 2017 national budget in Parliament last week, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa, said he had allocated $30.7 million to Parliament for CDF pending the promulgation of the appropriate legislation to govern the fund.
Makonde MP Kindness Paradza (Zanu-PF) who is also chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, hailed CDF reintroduction, saying it would assist in the completion of projects being undertaken such as building clinics, classroom blocks and shelter for mothers in his constituency.
“The CDF will go a long way in making sure that MPs undertake small projects for our people. In my case, I will use it to support small projects for youths and women in Makonde. We have already identified a number of them which are only waiting for funding. All these are at different stages of completion, so as soon as we receive this CDF we will complete most of them,” he said.
Zanu-PF Mutoko South MP David Chapfika, said it was prudent that Parliament monitored the disbursement of CDF.
“The key objective of the CDF is to capacitate members of parliament to spearhead development in their respective constituencies in consultation with constituency stakeholders. Given the modest quantum of the fund, it is my opinion that financing should be limited to small social projects with immediate impact on the people preferably in groups,” he said.
Last year, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs permanent secretary, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza, told our Harare Bureau that the CDF Bill was ready for presentation to Cabinet and said previous experience where legislators allegedly misused funds under CDF inspired Government to criminalise such abuses.
Online Reporter