The recent claim that the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) was “petty cash for an MP” by Socialist Party Zambia president, Fred M’membe, is politically convenient, but legally and institutionally incorrect.
Such a description reduces a grounded public finance instrument to a
caricature. It may generate applause in spaces of ecstasy
of partisan delirium and the carnality of #unthinking, but it does not
withstand scrutiny under law, administrative structure, or public finance
principles.
CDF was never an MPs "petty cash". It was and is a fiscal decentralisation mechanism.
What CDF actually Is
Constituency Development Funds (CDFs) represent a form of proximal governance and policymaking within the framework of decentralised development. In this framework, Members of Parliament and local government are assumed to be the primary agents of providing social services to communities. This, it is argued, can result in an effective means of enhancing the quality of life of local communities and thus contribute to the promotion of sustainable livelihoods.
CDFs are mainly a developing-world policy framework that provides public funds aimed at benefiting local communities through allocations to political constituencies. Spending decisions are influenced by Local Authorities and Members of Parliament (MPs) through a myriad of participatory governance structures, which differ from country to country. The most salient feature of CDFs is that they are politically driven development initiatives, rationalised on the premise of the significance of locally based development.
Decisions on CDF allocations and disbursements are predominantly situated within national budget processes and the budget oversight responsibilities of respective parliaments. Allocations and disbursements differ from country to country. For instance, in India, Pakistan, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, and South Sudan, equal amounts are allocated to each constituency. In contrast, Kenya and Tanzania use a more progressive allocation structure that includes equity and redistribution objectives, favouring poorer areas in the overall system for distributing funds.
The logic is straightforward. Communities understand their infrastructure gaps better than distant ministries. However, CDF is political in the sense that it operates within elected constituencies. It is not political in the sense of being personal.
How Zambia structured CDF
In Zambia, CDF was introduced in 1995 following approval by the National Assembly as an instrument to support local community development. Not 1998, as claimed in the video herein cited in this post.
The first appropriation and disbursement occurred that same year through Parliament. From 1995 to 2016, the Fund was provided for under Section 45 of the Local Government Act, Cap 281 of the Laws of Zambia.
In the original 1995 formulation, Members of Parliament (MPs) were described as custodians of the Fund, working with communities to choose and implement projects intended to improve well-being in their constituencies. Local Authorities were required to incorporate CDF into their capital budgets and administer its disbursement and utilisation, in accordance with Section 45(1) of the Local Government Act (Cap 281). The process recognised Local Authorities as custodians of the Fund for accountability purposes, including regular auditing by Local Government auditors under the Ministry. Councils maintained separate bank accounts and books of account for CDF as earmarked funds.
In 2016, it was constitutionally recognised under the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016. In 2018, Parliament enacted the Constituency Development Fund Act No. 11 of 2018 to provide a comprehensive legal framework governing its management, disbursement, utilisation, and accountability.
Today, CDF operates within a layered legal framework that includes the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016; Constituency Development Fund Act No. 11 of 2018; Local Government Act No. 2 of 2019; and the, Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 2018. Other laws related to the implementation of CDF include the Public Procurement Act No. 8 of 2020; Urban and Regional Planning Act No. 3 of 2015; National Planning and Budgeting Act No. 1 of 2020; and the Gender Equity and Equality Act No. 22 of 2015.
CDF passes through multiple institutional layers of responsibility.
(a) Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MoFNP) is responsible for the disbursement of CDF to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MoLGRD);
(b) Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MoLGRD) is responsible for, among other functions, managing and administering the Constituency Development Fund; ensuring that prudent fiscal and accounting controls are established; and issuing guidelines on project initiation, identification, prioritisation, classification, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation;
(c) Local Authorities (Councils) are responsible for disbursements from the Fund; procurement processes; and project implementation, management, and monitoring and evaluation of CDF programmes and projects;
(d) Constituency Development Fund Committee (CDFC) are responsible for, among other functions, receiving and reviewing proposed project lists from Ward Development Committees (WDCs) and submitting them for approval; and receiving and considering annual reports and returns from the constituency; and,
(e) Ward Development Committee (WDC) are responsible for providing a forum for dialogue and coordination on ward development issues; submitting applications for projects, secondary boarding schools, skills development bursaries, and empowerment projects to the CDFC; identifying areas for capacity building within the ward; preparing quarterly reports on developmental activities within the ward; developing and maintaining a ward-based database as guided by the Local Authority; and participating in project implementation, management, and monitoring.
National Assembly Constituency Offices do not hold CDF in their accounts. Councils do. It is a serious expression of educated ignorance to argue that Constituency Offices do not have capacity to administer and manage CDF.
In addition, CDF funds are processed through public financial management systems. Procurement is governed by statutory procurement law. Audits are conducted. Bank accounts are separate. Reporting obligations are mandatory.
One may critique implementation weaknesses, but one cannot credibly describe CDF as a fallacy of local development.
The role of MPs - custodians, not cashiers
In its original formulation, MPs were described as custodians of the Fund, working with communities to identify development priorities. That language reflected political accountability, not “petty cash holders”. The administrative and accounting responsibilities have always rested with Local Authorities. Conflating political representation with financial control is either a misunderstanding of decentralisation or a deliberate political oversimplification.
Imperfections are not illegality
This argument does not claim that CDF implementation has been flawless. Research and audit reports have documented weaknesses that include misappropriation and/or diversion of funds, capacity gaps, instances of political interference, and compliance challenges. But structural weaknesses in implementation, are not the same as structural illegitimacy.
If a road project is poorly executed, we critique procurement or oversight, we do not declare the good intent of a government programme a fallacy of local development.
Why accuracy in public debate matters
Public discourse shapes citizen trust in institutions. When political actors reduce a constitutionally grounded decentralisation instrument to a slogan, they do not clarify governance, they cloud it. A worrying microcosm on their ability to govern.
Criticism is healthy in a democracy. But criticism must be anchored in law and institutional realities. CDF is a public finance instrument governed by statute, procurement law, planning law, and constitutional authority. It is administered through councils, monitored through committees, and regulated through ministerial oversight. To describe it otherwise, is simply grandstanding in spaces of ecstasy of partisan delirium and the carnality of #unthinking.
I seriously beg politicians in this country of my skull, to learn to research before they begin infecting citizens with perilous levels of ignorance.
Ora pro nobis.
-------------
Confession
The foregoing write-up is based on consultancy-lead work in which I participated many moons ago. In particular the following:
1. Caritas Zambia (2011). Constituency Development Fund (CDF): Allocation, Disbursement and Utilisation – Study Report.
2. Transparency International Zambia and Anti-Corruption Commission (2025). 2024 Zambia Bribe Payers Index Survey Report (ZBPI): Corruption in the Decentralisation Process, with a Focus on Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Implementation.
Video reference: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1TGLYZVix3/
CDF was never an MPs "petty cash". It was and is a fiscal decentralisation mechanism.
What CDF actually Is
Constituency Development Funds (CDFs) represent a form of proximal governance and policymaking within the framework of decentralised development. In this framework, Members of Parliament and local government are assumed to be the primary agents of providing social services to communities. This, it is argued, can result in an effective means of enhancing the quality of life of local communities and thus contribute to the promotion of sustainable livelihoods.
CDFs are mainly a developing-world policy framework that provides public funds aimed at benefiting local communities through allocations to political constituencies. Spending decisions are influenced by Local Authorities and Members of Parliament (MPs) through a myriad of participatory governance structures, which differ from country to country. The most salient feature of CDFs is that they are politically driven development initiatives, rationalised on the premise of the significance of locally based development.
Decisions on CDF allocations and disbursements are predominantly situated within national budget processes and the budget oversight responsibilities of respective parliaments. Allocations and disbursements differ from country to country. For instance, in India, Pakistan, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, and South Sudan, equal amounts are allocated to each constituency. In contrast, Kenya and Tanzania use a more progressive allocation structure that includes equity and redistribution objectives, favouring poorer areas in the overall system for distributing funds.
The logic is straightforward. Communities understand their infrastructure gaps better than distant ministries. However, CDF is political in the sense that it operates within elected constituencies. It is not political in the sense of being personal.
How Zambia structured CDF
In Zambia, CDF was introduced in 1995 following approval by the National Assembly as an instrument to support local community development. Not 1998, as claimed in the video herein cited in this post.
The first appropriation and disbursement occurred that same year through Parliament. From 1995 to 2016, the Fund was provided for under Section 45 of the Local Government Act, Cap 281 of the Laws of Zambia.
In the original 1995 formulation, Members of Parliament (MPs) were described as custodians of the Fund, working with communities to choose and implement projects intended to improve well-being in their constituencies. Local Authorities were required to incorporate CDF into their capital budgets and administer its disbursement and utilisation, in accordance with Section 45(1) of the Local Government Act (Cap 281). The process recognised Local Authorities as custodians of the Fund for accountability purposes, including regular auditing by Local Government auditors under the Ministry. Councils maintained separate bank accounts and books of account for CDF as earmarked funds.
In 2016, it was constitutionally recognised under the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016. In 2018, Parliament enacted the Constituency Development Fund Act No. 11 of 2018 to provide a comprehensive legal framework governing its management, disbursement, utilisation, and accountability.
Today, CDF operates within a layered legal framework that includes the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016; Constituency Development Fund Act No. 11 of 2018; Local Government Act No. 2 of 2019; and the, Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 2018. Other laws related to the implementation of CDF include the Public Procurement Act No. 8 of 2020; Urban and Regional Planning Act No. 3 of 2015; National Planning and Budgeting Act No. 1 of 2020; and the Gender Equity and Equality Act No. 22 of 2015.
CDF passes through multiple institutional layers of responsibility.
(a) Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MoFNP) is responsible for the disbursement of CDF to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MoLGRD);
(b) Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MoLGRD) is responsible for, among other functions, managing and administering the Constituency Development Fund; ensuring that prudent fiscal and accounting controls are established; and issuing guidelines on project initiation, identification, prioritisation, classification, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation;
(c) Local Authorities (Councils) are responsible for disbursements from the Fund; procurement processes; and project implementation, management, and monitoring and evaluation of CDF programmes and projects;
(d) Constituency Development Fund Committee (CDFC) are responsible for, among other functions, receiving and reviewing proposed project lists from Ward Development Committees (WDCs) and submitting them for approval; and receiving and considering annual reports and returns from the constituency; and,
(e) Ward Development Committee (WDC) are responsible for providing a forum for dialogue and coordination on ward development issues; submitting applications for projects, secondary boarding schools, skills development bursaries, and empowerment projects to the CDFC; identifying areas for capacity building within the ward; preparing quarterly reports on developmental activities within the ward; developing and maintaining a ward-based database as guided by the Local Authority; and participating in project implementation, management, and monitoring.
National Assembly Constituency Offices do not hold CDF in their accounts. Councils do. It is a serious expression of educated ignorance to argue that Constituency Offices do not have capacity to administer and manage CDF.
In addition, CDF funds are processed through public financial management systems. Procurement is governed by statutory procurement law. Audits are conducted. Bank accounts are separate. Reporting obligations are mandatory.
One may critique implementation weaknesses, but one cannot credibly describe CDF as a fallacy of local development.
The role of MPs - custodians, not cashiers
In its original formulation, MPs were described as custodians of the Fund, working with communities to identify development priorities. That language reflected political accountability, not “petty cash holders”. The administrative and accounting responsibilities have always rested with Local Authorities. Conflating political representation with financial control is either a misunderstanding of decentralisation or a deliberate political oversimplification.
Imperfections are not illegality
This argument does not claim that CDF implementation has been flawless. Research and audit reports have documented weaknesses that include misappropriation and/or diversion of funds, capacity gaps, instances of political interference, and compliance challenges. But structural weaknesses in implementation, are not the same as structural illegitimacy.
If a road project is poorly executed, we critique procurement or oversight, we do not declare the good intent of a government programme a fallacy of local development.
Why accuracy in public debate matters
Public discourse shapes citizen trust in institutions. When political actors reduce a constitutionally grounded decentralisation instrument to a slogan, they do not clarify governance, they cloud it. A worrying microcosm on their ability to govern.
Criticism is healthy in a democracy. But criticism must be anchored in law and institutional realities. CDF is a public finance instrument governed by statute, procurement law, planning law, and constitutional authority. It is administered through councils, monitored through committees, and regulated through ministerial oversight. To describe it otherwise, is simply grandstanding in spaces of ecstasy of partisan delirium and the carnality of #unthinking.
I seriously beg politicians in this country of my skull, to learn to research before they begin infecting citizens with perilous levels of ignorance.
Ora pro nobis.
-------------
Confession
The foregoing write-up is based on consultancy-lead work in which I participated many moons ago. In particular the following:
1. Caritas Zambia (2011). Constituency Development Fund (CDF): Allocation, Disbursement and Utilisation – Study Report.
2. Transparency International Zambia and Anti-Corruption Commission (2025). 2024 Zambia Bribe Payers Index Survey Report (ZBPI): Corruption in the Decentralisation Process, with a Focus on Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Implementation.
