"Scrapping CDF Is a Betrayal of the People" — Bomet MP Blasts Proposals in Fiery Forum

Bomet,Kenya - Bomet Central MP Richard Kilel has come out guns blazing against proposals to scrap the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), branding the move as a “betrayal of the people” and a direct assault on grassroots progress.

Addressing a packed public participation forum, Kilel didn't mince his words, warning that the move to dismantle NG-CDF would roll back decades of community-driven development and plunge poor families into deeper despair.

“These funds are not luxuries — they are lifelines,” he declared. “Scrapping them will sabotage education, stall infrastructure projects, and strangle the very engine of rural development.”

Kilel highlighted tangible successes under the fund — over 200 classrooms built or refurbished, and KSh 55 million in bursaries awarded to more than 3,000 students — achievements that, he warned, would be impossible without NG-CDF support.

“This is not just a fund — it’s the hope of every parent struggling to send their child to school. It's the bridge to that remote village, the roof over a classroom, and a rare opportunity for equity in Kenya’s lopsided development,” said the visibly agitated legislator.

He challenged proponents of the fund’s scrapping to visit rural schools and face the families who stand to lose the most.

“Tell that mother who walks 10km to a chief’s office for a bursary form that her child's future is now a budget line to be debated in Nairobi boardrooms,” he charged.

Backing him was Bomet KEPSHA Secretary Joseph Ngetich, who echoed the outrage, calling the NG-CDF the “backbone of education” in the region.

“Without CDF, most of our schools would be crumbling. Orphans would be out of class, youth jobless, and infrastructure projects dead on arrival. If Parliament goes ahead with this, it’s a direct hit on the future of our children,” Ngetich warned.

He added that the fund’s abolishment would leave a dangerous development vacuum and fuel inequalities that CDF was created to fix.

The National Government Constituencies Development Fund was established in 2003 to decentralize development and empower constituencies to meet local needs. Its critics claim it's prone to mismanagement, but supporters argue that the problem isn’t the fund — it’s the oversight.

Now, with the CDF Amendment Bill 2025 seeking to formally entrench NG-CDF, the Senate Oversight Fund, and the NGAAF into law, the political battle lines are drawn. Kilel and his constituents are not waiting quietly.

“This is not the time to sit on the fence. We must defend this fund with everything we have. If Parliament cannot see the impact of CDF, then Parliament is blind,” Kilel said to applause.

As the national debate rages over the next three days, Bomet Central has sent a clear message: Scrapping the CDF is not just unpopular — it’s unacceptable.