Group Launches Guide to Help Kenyans Fight Corruption and Monitor Public Funds

NAIROBI—The Open Society Initiative for East Africa today released a handbook to help residents combat the lack of transparency and accountability in Community Development Funds (CDF). This effort will help realize the enormous potential of the CDF to positively impact local development.

The CDF, a Kenyan government program that allocates public money to grassroots-initiated projects, is plagued by financial mismanagement, corruption, lack of community participation, and few oversight mechanisms to hold members of parliament accountable.

"Kenyans are locked out of a decision-making process that directly affects their communities," said Binaifer Nowrojee, the Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) Director. "With this handbook, people will be better able to make demands on their politicians and local CDF committees about how they want their public funds used."

The CDF Social Audit Guide—A Handbook for Communities offers useful tools and methods to track the use of public funds. The OSIEA handbook also facilitates efforts to improve the current CDF legislation.

According to OSIEA, the CDF Act should be amended to give local communities greater oversight over decision making and improved access to information. Resources should also be committed to train local communities on how to more effectively manage and monitor projects. Without these changes, the potential of this program will be lost.

Background

In 2003, the Kenyan government earmarked 2.5 percent of ordinary collected revenue to be administered by Parliament through the CDF. Three quarters of the amount is divided equitably between the 210 parliamentary constituencies, while the remaining quarter caters to less-developed constituencies.

While the introduction of the CDF is one of the most progressive decentralization initiatives that Kenya has ever undertaken, the process remains fraught with implementation problems that threaten to undermine its long term success and impact.

Experiences in CDF implementation provide invaluable lessons for Kenya’s decentralization and devolution process. Unfortunately, the fund’s operations are shrouded in secrecy and local communities are routinely denied even the most basic information. Lack of access to information regarding CDF processes effectively locks the public out of CDF operations.

The lack of transparency further abets collusion and corruption at the local level. CDF operations are routinely characterized by non-compliance with procurement regulations and policies. Errant CDF officials, parliamentarians, and contractors are almost never held accountable for embezzlement or corruption. A culture of impunity has swiftly taken root. Increasingly, local corruption networks threaten to capture the benefits of the fund, with few avenues of redress for community members.

Some of the problems lie with limitations in the CDF Act and the implementation framework. The law lacks the necessary safeguards essential for effective financial and operational management. The Act grants excessive powers to members of parliament, without corresponding obligations and responsibilities to hold parliamentarians and local CDF officials to account. The national CDF Board lacks oversight powers to monitor the parliamentary committee or to enforce discipline in the fund’s operations. This is a dangerous precedent in local funds administration that should not be allowed to take root.

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