Government extolled for increased CDF allocation, but...

IN its ambitious 2022 national budget, Government announced an unprecedented constituency development fund (CDF) increment from K1.6 million to K25.7 million

ON Friday, 29th October 2021, the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane presented the proposed 2022 national budget to parliament under the theme: “Growth, jobs and taking development closer to the people.”

In this budget, Dr. Musokotwane made a number of pronouncements.

However, one such pronouncement that has drawn interest, commendation and criticism, is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which has been increased from K1.6 million to K25.7 million per constituency.

Now that is quite a pronouncement!

Dr. Musokotwane says the new dawn government targets to register a 100 percent disbursement of the CDF to all the constituencies in a bid to enhance social service delivery and citizen empowerment especially among youths and women.

Shangombo Member of Parliament (MP), Mubika Mubika has praised the government for the proposed move. Mr Mubika who was first elected to the seat in 2016 says the budget will be the first ever to uplift the livelihoods of people in Shangombo district since Zambia got its Independence.

His observation is that the budget will be implemented effectively because the money has been decentralised to the local people who will benefit directly.

“This is the first budget that will uplift the lives of the people of Shangombo,” he says. “We will try by all means to ensure that we have enough clinics, staff accommodation for our teachers, enough classrooms, ICTs also to be provided to our learners as well as feeder roads to be attended to.”

Mr. Mubika is positive that with the increased CDF, the face of Shangombo District will now change.

Weighing in on the matter, a coalition of civil society organisations working under the auspices of the Strengthened Accountability Programme phase two (SAP II) contends that the pronouncement requires critical reflection, given that the CDF is designed to meet the development needs of citizens.

SAP II is a programme supported by Diakonia, a faith based organisation with funding from the Embassy of Sweden in Zambia. The program is empowering citizens who are the rights holders in holding duty bearers accountable and fully benefiting from the nation’s resource endowment.

In a joint statement released in Lusaka recently, the implementing partners who include: Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR), Caritas Zambia, Caritas Solwezi, Forum for Democratic Processes (FODEP), and Women for Change in collaboration with Diakonia Zambia, said while the CDF Act of 2018 provides workable guidelines in the management of CDF, in practice, a number of challenges linger.

They have suggested strengthened capacity building to local governance structures such as ward development committees and local councils countrywide.

“The government needs to ensure that all ward development committees are established, functional and have the capacity to manage the CDF funds and development project in the area before any disbursement of the CDF is made and the Minister of Finance needs to provide more guidance on what the CDF will be used on and what it will not be used on,” reads the statement.

They said the pronouncement should also take into consideration the disbursement, utilisation and monitoring of the CDF to enhance transparency and accountability in the management of funds.

They said the undue influence of local authority officials and Members of Parliament in the management and administration of the CDF must also be managed.

The implementing partners have proposed the strengthening of the CDF Guidelines in order to mitigate the risk of individuals or elected representatives’ dictating which projects to prioritise.

“There is an urgent need to establish and strengthen local and sub-governance structures such as the WDCs and the CDF management committees. Local authorities also need to prioritise the formation and full orientation of the WDCs as provided for in the 2021 WDC guidelines as they are key in the submission of ward development plans and priorities.

“There is a need to harmonize and align various policies, regulations and procedures as the CDF will be an integral component of the country’s development agenda. There is a need to review the local Government expenditure and procurement rules and regulations as a means of enhancing transparency and accountability in the expenditure and procurement of the CDF. It should be emphasised that the CDF should be prioritized within the local communities needs and aligned to the Integrated Development Plans (IDPS). The CDF amounts should be adequate in consideration of the size of the wards, constituency and population among others,” reads the statement in part.

Harry Miyanda is opposition Patriotic Front (PF) Kapwayambale ward councillor in Chongwe constituency.

He too has welcomed the move to increase the fund, but not without caution. “Of course, it’s a welcome move if the WDCs are made to work according to how they are supposed to, without any political interference.”

Mr. Miyanda however foresees a challenge, especially for wards in rural areas whose representatives may not have basic education to understand basic things such as project management, proposals, budgets, and reports among others.

“I also hope it won’t come with its own challenges for those of us in the opposition to access, for fear of outshining those in power. For those of us in constituencies whose MPs are UPND and we are opposition, I hope we shall not be frustrated regarding access to the funds and implementation of projects,” he says.

He too has called for WDCs to be adequately trained and oriented in the management of the fund, considering how huge it is.

Continental Leadership Research Institute (CLRI) executive director Hakoola Ngo says the increment is a milestone development that will not only drive decentralisation of finances, but also spur rural development.

He says rural areas have in the past lagged in development because of inadequate resources. He says, with the increment, rural-dwellers will have an opportunity to identify their pressing needs and priorities.

“This speaks to decentralisation of development to constituencies where communities will have an opportunity to draw up plans in key needy areas and have a stake in the development agenda,” he says.

Mr. Ngo who has also noted the need for capacity building of human resources in most constituencies has urged youths and women to take advantage of the financial allocations by forming cooperatives and companies that could bid for various community projects.

CLRI is a non-partisan and non-profit making organization that believes in research based advocacy working with different professionals and also young people across the country.

Asked about what he makes of the pronouncement, Gershom Mulenga of Lusaka's Mandevu Township says the move is welcome and long overdue.

“The whole thing is just refreshing and has the potential to bring hope to people. I haven’t read it in its entirety but when I heard about the CDF, I couldn’t help but wonder where the previous administration was taking the money, if indeed we have such a capacity,” he says.

Just like many others, Mr. Mulenga’s other scepticism is misuse of the funds.

Josephine Malasha of Lusaka’s Chunga Township says the representatives of the people should ensure that the people they lead have an input in identifying priority areas of need in their respective constituencies.

“We don’t want things to just be imposed on us. Let them consult us because we are the ones that live here. Most of these leaders we elect don't even live among us and they mostly just want to do things their own way and aim at just enriching themselves at our expense,” she says.

But Dr. Musokotwane has a message for anyone intending to misuse the fund. In his budget presentation speech, he said: “Here is a stern warning, abuse of CDF and failure to sanction those who misuse the funds will attract heavy punishment.”