Members of Parliament should stop bemoaning the looming death of the constituency development fund (CDF) but instead explore other avenues through which they could fund development activities in their areas of jurisdiction.
Retired bishop of Maseno West Anglican diocese Joseph Otieno Wasonga said that the recent Supreme Court ruling declaring CDF unconstitutional should be a wakeup call to the legislators to reach out to other development partners that have hitherto taken a passive role in development.
He was speaking at Nyawara Girls high school grounds in central Gem location during the official launch of Tiji foundation.
“We know that in the political arena, MPs are pushing for CDF to be reinstated but work does not have to stop because CDF is not there,” he said.
Bishop Wasonga said that it was the responsibility of all leaders, MPs included, to mobilize resources from both the locals and even Kenyans and friends in the diaspora.
He lamented that some legislators were scared of mobilizing resources from their well to do constituents, fearing that philanthropic individuals may dethrone them.
“There are times when political leaders feel threatened when other people come up with initiatives such as the one we are launching today,” he said adding, “We want to affirm and confirm to them that we need everybody to participate in development of the community”.
Bishop Wasonga hailed the Tiji Foundation founders for prioritizing education and dedicating themselves to ensure that no child from Gem constituency would be locked out of studies for lack of fees and called on other leaders to come up and support development initiatives in other sectors such as food security.
The director of Tiji Foundation Mr. Timothy Odende said the organization would be non-political and would help provide a platform for locals to help improve the society.
“We have people in the diaspora who want to come home and help but more often than not, they are viewed as political competitors,” said Odende.
Apart from education, Odende said that the foundation would also support initiatives geared towards the improvement of food security such as provision of quality seeds, fertilizer and help in the lease of tractors for ploughing.