The National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) Committee has asked two Ministries to hasten finalization of critical guidelines to enable constituencies to benefit from funds for constituency-based digital hubs and climate change mitigation measures.

 The NG-CDF Committee met officials from the Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Forestry as well as their counterparts from the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Digital Economy to discuss recent amendments to the NG-CDF Act.

 The amendments allowed the National Government to fund the Constituency based Digital hubs as well as Climate Change Mitigation measures through NG-CDF.

 During the meeting with the Ministry of Information, Communication and Digital Economy officials, the MPs led by Committee Chairperson, Hon. Musa Sirma (Eldama Ravine), noted that the pending guidelines were crucial before funds from the NG-CDF kitty could be used for the constituency-based digital hubs project.

 This was a follow-up to an earlier meeting between the Ministry and the NG-CDF Board in July, 2024 in which key legal and logistical roll out gaps were noted in the initial draft of the guidelines. 

Hon. Sirma pointed out that time was running out and challenged the Ministry and the NG-CDF Board to hasten finalization of the guidelines for tabling and adoption by the National Assembly.

 "Time is not on our side, our young people are waiting in the constituencies and these pending issues need to be finalized," noted Hon. Sirma.

 During fact-finding visits to the constituency digital hubs across the country earlier this year, the Committee noted serious infrastructural and technical challenges in the centres, which Members noted could be speedily addressed through NG-CDF once the guidelines are finalized.

 Section 25 (2) (a) of the NG-CDF Act permits constituencies to allocate up to three percent of their total allocation to cater for utility expenses and maintenance of the constituency digital hubs.

 During the meeting with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry officials, Members stressed the need for the Government to expand the scope of climate change mitigation measures to include water harvesting and promoting the use of clean energy in public institutions. This they noted would expand community projects beyond the routine tree planting exercises.