Hon Martha Karua

Promoting Social Responsibility KCODA

Giving a voice to the community

24th July, 2009

Hon. Eng. Muriuki Karue Chairman CDF Review Taskforce P.O. Box 46682-00100 Nairobi Kenya.

Dear Sir,

RE: Presentation of written memorandum on the Constituency Development Fund (CDF)

Ufadhili Trust and Kibera Community Development Agenda (KCODA) are today presenting a written memorandum to Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Review Task Force. Following a Public Resource Accountability Forum held on 22nd July 09in Kibera AIC church. The outputs from the forum that forwarded to be included in the review of he CDF act include:

1. Education Education projects should factor the following;  Over-allocation to one institution in consecutive years unless the project involves a number of phases  Cater for the increasing number of students for both the primary and the secondary school levels.

2. Bursary Bursary allocations should be conducted in a transparent manner and made available to those who meet the criteria. The names of those awarded MUST be put in public notice boards indicating the amounts awarded.

3. The Constituency Development Committee members, other than meeting the minimum criteria as stipulated in the CDF Act, Section 23 (1) should meet a certain

1 minimum level of education. Further, they should be of varied professions that will be beneficial in identifying, prioritizing and implementation of the development projects.

4. Terms in office The CDF committee members should not serve for more than two consecutive terms. The Chair of the CDF committee should be elected amongst the committee members.

5. Community Oversight committee A CDF committee comprising of representatives from the civil society, religious organizations and other stakeholders should be formed at Location level and given access to the project list and financial allocations. The Committees will monitor and evaluate and present the findings the CDF Boards and where misappropriation is detected, they may forward a copy to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission for further investigations.

6. Separation of powers of the Members of Parliament. Members of Parliament should act as ex- officio members who oversees and holds the committees accountable. His/her roles should be limited to supervisory. The execution of the proposed projects should be left to the CDF committees. MPs should only be allowed to appoint not more than three people in accordance to the provisions of the CDF Act.

7. The development of entrepreneurship. The CDF Act should highlight entrepreneurship development to increase the productivity within the Constituencies but with strict regulation. The CDF act should acquire/ allocate space for entrepreneurs to operate.

8. The project list and implementation reports and should be put in public notice boards to inform the public on their status. Annual financial audit reports, projects list and implementation status from each constituency, should be published in the print media to ensure transparency and accountability. 9. Misappropriation Any misappropriation or illegal activity noted by the CDF Board MUST be forwarded to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) and responsible officers should be suspended from office pending further investigations. The assets of the accused should also be frozen in the course of investigation.

10. Penalties The penalty for any member of the CDF committees or partners (contractors/ project coordinators) should be increased. The imprisonment sentence should be increased up from the 5 years in the current CDF act. The fine imposed on one should be flexible reflecting the amount an individual may have misappropriated i.e. should be more than the amount one has been found guilty of misappropriating.

2 Name: ______Signature: ______Date: ______

Name: ______Signature: ______Date: ______