Government to implement need based CDF allocations once public understanding improves, says Treasury Secretary

Government to implement need based CDF allocations once public understanding improves, says Treasury Secretary

Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa says the government is ready to implement Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocations based on need, but will only proceed once communities fully understand and appreciate the concept.

Lusaka—Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa has clarified that the government is not opposed to allocating different CDF amounts to constituencies based on their specific needs, stating that the model is already embedded in the current CDF design. However, he said implementation will only proceed once there is widespread public understanding of how such a system would work.

Nkulukusa was responding to remarks by Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA) president Yande Mwenye, who argued that CDF allocations should vary from constituency to constituency, depending on population size, poverty levels, and developmental status.

In an interview, Nkulukusa acknowledged that the proposal was valid but stressed that critics were speaking out of context. He explained that the government already factored in the idea of differentiated allocations from the onset of the expanded CDF program.

“The problem is that most of these people say things out of context,” he said. “When we started the CDF, we said that as we develop it and as the community understands it we would introduce factors like geographical size, population, and development levels of each constituency.”

According to Nkulukusa, while the groundwork for differentiated allocations is in place, rushing to implement it now could generate political controversy, particularly if constituencies aligned with opposition parties receive less funding due to lower needs.

“If we were to do it now, and one of the constituencies which is more developed, has a lower population, and happens to be held by the opposition gets a reduced allocation, people will say it’s political. That’s the danger,” he said. “We are aware of these factors; it’s just that we must introduce them at the right time when the community understands and agrees that it’s fair.”

He likened the delay to parenting: “It’s like your child you don’t ask them to run to school just because it’s near if they’re still too young to run. You take them there. That’s what we’re doing with the CDF we’re growing the understanding first.”

Nkulukusa pointed out that the principles of needs-based allocation were already documented in previous national budgets, including the 2021 and 2022 budgets, which outlined the government’s vision for a more targeted approach to local development funding.

He further accused Mwenye of ignoring the political and social dynamics that must be considered when implementing such reforms.

“She is speaking out of context because she doesn’t understand the political economy or perhaps she’s ignoring it in order to criticise,” Nkulukusa said. “This is why our first priority is to educate and carry the community along, so that when changes come, they are understood, appreciated, and accepted.”

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