Create a body to manage constituency development fund
Jun 10, 2007
The idea of involving Parliament in the country’s economic development, basing it on development at constituency level, is excessively excellent.
The idea of involving Parliament in the country’s economic development, basing it on development at constituency level, is excessively excellent.
But, releasing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to MPs is a grave error. No MP can be trusted to make proper use of this Fund to effect development in their respective constituencies.
That is why not a single MP has ever submitted to Parliament accountability for use of the sh10m given to them for their constituency development purpose.
Scrapping the fund cannot serve the country either. All Parliament needs to do is to initiate a workable approach to the process of properly utilising the fund to meet the country’s development requirements. Otherwise, this idea is very brilliant.
Let me use this opportunity to prescribe the procedure to handle the fund:
l Bring back Uganda Development Corporation (UDC). UDC was created by the British Colonial Government to initiate and promote economic development projects, to develop the country. Hence, all the Government parastatals or corporations like Uganda Electricity Board, Coffee Marketing Board, Lint Marketing Board, etc were initiated and developed by UDC.
Unfortunately, these parastatals were liberalised.
l If the Government finds it difficult to bring back UDC, let it create an Economic Development Planning Authority (EDPA) to handle the intended constituency economic development.
l Let the Parliament go ahead with budgeting for the CDF. But it should not release the fund to the MPS to pocket off. Keep the fund in the Public Consolidated Account in the Treasury.
l MPs should go back to their constituencies and discuss with the people what development will work in these constituencies.
After that, let the MP find a Consultant to study the proposed project and then make a professional write-up for the project proposal, which should then be passed to the EDPA to study.
If the EDPA approves the project write-up, then Parliament should approve and allow the work on the project to go ahead.
l
The MPs should recruit people to do the work, with the EDPA supervising and monitoring it. This being a Government account work, the Auditor General (AG) must be fully involved in supervising and monitoring it.
At the end of the year or project, the AG must thoroughly audit it and then submit his audit report to Parliament.
The payment for the work done should be directly released to the people who have done the work and not to the constituency MP—following the approval and recommendation by the AG.
The MP should definitely not be given any money to give to the worker(s) because he or she will not pass on the money.
That is why it is absolutely advisable not to release the Constituency Development Fund to MPs. MPs in Uganda are financially untrustable.
The writer is a retired
researcher for Bank of Uganda
But, releasing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to MPs is a grave error. No MP can be trusted to make proper use of this Fund to effect development in their respective constituencies.
That is why not a single MP has ever submitted to Parliament accountability for use of the sh10m given to them for their constituency development purpose.
Scrapping the fund cannot serve the country either. All Parliament needs to do is to initiate a workable approach to the process of properly utilising the fund to meet the country’s development requirements. Otherwise, this idea is very brilliant.
Let me use this opportunity to prescribe the procedure to handle the fund:
l Bring back Uganda Development Corporation (UDC). UDC was created by the British Colonial Government to initiate and promote economic development projects, to develop the country. Hence, all the Government parastatals or corporations like Uganda Electricity Board, Coffee Marketing Board, Lint Marketing Board, etc were initiated and developed by UDC.
Unfortunately, these parastatals were liberalised.
l If the Government finds it difficult to bring back UDC, let it create an Economic Development Planning Authority (EDPA) to handle the intended constituency economic development.
l Let the Parliament go ahead with budgeting for the CDF. But it should not release the fund to the MPS to pocket off. Keep the fund in the Public Consolidated Account in the Treasury.
l MPs should go back to their constituencies and discuss with the people what development will work in these constituencies.
After that, let the MP find a Consultant to study the proposed project and then make a professional write-up for the project proposal, which should then be passed to the EDPA to study.
If the EDPA approves the project write-up, then Parliament should approve and allow the work on the project to go ahead.
l
The MPs should recruit people to do the work, with the EDPA supervising and monitoring it. This being a Government account work, the Auditor General (AG) must be fully involved in supervising and monitoring it.
At the end of the year or project, the AG must thoroughly audit it and then submit his audit report to Parliament.
The payment for the work done should be directly released to the people who have done the work and not to the constituency MP—following the approval and recommendation by the AG.
The MP should definitely not be given any money to give to the worker(s) because he or she will not pass on the money.
That is why it is absolutely advisable not to release the Constituency Development Fund to MPs. MPs in Uganda are financially untrustable.
The writer is a retired
researcher for Bank of Uganda