Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has once again called on Members of Parliament to surrender the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) to county governments, insisting that the fund should not be entrenched in the Constitution without a national referendum.
Speaking in Mombasa during the 42nd Annual Conference of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) on Tuesday, Raila dismissed the ongoing public participation exercise being conducted by lawmakers in support of Constitution Amendment Bill No. 4 of 2025 as “an exercise in futility.”
“CDF is about 2.5% of the total budget. 2.5% is substantial because it would increase the allocation to counties from 15% to 17.5%. CDF should be the responsibility of county governments. Members of Parliament are supposed to do three things: representation, legislation, and oversight,” Raila stated.
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The bill, which is currently undergoing public scrutiny, seeks to entrench the NG-CDF, the Senate Oversight Fund, and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) in the Constitution. However, Raila warned that the attempt to bypass the constitutional process would not succeed.
“Do all the public participation you want. Ultimately, you must go to a referendum, and you will lose. It’s not that we don’t want bursaries—they’ll be there, but distributed by the county government,” he added.
Odinga also advocated for the devolution of the road maintenance levy, arguing that counties are better placed to address the infrastructural needs of local communities.
He emphasized that devolution must be respected and expanded, but governors found mismanaging public funds must face justice.
On the national economy, the ODM party leader urged the government to seal revenue leakages and ease the tax burden on Kenyans. He hinted at possible reforms in the upcoming budget that may offer some relief to citizens.
“You’ll see, for example, this housing levy you are paying is going to be converted into an investment, so that if you don’t get a house, you can be entitled to a refund in the future. So please give ODM time to show you how we can do it,” he concluded.
Raila’s remarks are likely to intensify the national debate around the role of MPs in resource allocation and the future of CDF, which has remained a politically sensitive fund since its inception.