Ijara: Ijara residents on Friday embraced the proposed amendment to entrench NG-CDF, NGAAF, and the Senate Oversight Fund in the Constitution of Kenya. Ijara residents have expressed mixed reactions to the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 4 of 2025) to entrench the National Government-Constituency Development Fund.

According to Kenya News Agency, the Bill targets to formally entrench the National Government Constituency Fund (NG-CF), National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), and Senate Oversight Fund (SOF). During a public participation session held in Masalani town, the residents embarked on a spirited campaign to entrench the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) in the constitution, while others were skeptical and expressed reservations about the issue.

The exercise comes as the fate of the NG-CDF kitty remains uncertain to date after a High Court ruling in 2023 declared the fund unconstitutional, citing concerns over the separation of powers. Ijara youth leader Mr. Salah Yarrow said the community strongly supported the entrenchment of the development kitties in the constitution but emphasized the critical need for checks and balances to ensure that they facilitate prudent use of the funds.

He insisted that accountability and transparency in the use of the funds must be upheld for the impact of the development initiative to be felt at the community levels for the common good of the country. Yarrow said the region, which was largely marginalized since independence some 60 years down the line, was now coming up in terms of development of critical infrastructure courtesy of the NG-CDF.

‘Children from less fortunate backgrounds now can access education through bursaries and schools, hospitals, dispensaries, and water pans and dams, which, though dilapidated, have sprung up almost everywhere since the funds were allocated,’ he said. Yarrow declared that the area was fully backing the entrenchment of NG-CDF, NGAAF, and Senate Oversight Funds (SOF) to facilitate equitable development at the grassroots level.