MEMBERS of Parliament (MPs) have taken Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to task over the delayed disbursement of constituency development fund (CDF) money.
The MPs expressed frustration over lack of transparency and accountability in the allocation of the funds.
Budiriro North legislator Susan Matsunga appealed to the minister to provide a clear time-line for the disbursement of the money.
“Kindly give us a response with dates and days because from the information which you are sending to the general public, they are thinking that we are abusing those funds,” Matsunga said.
“I am kindly asking you to say it clearly so that those people we represent in our constituencies know that we have not yet received anything from the Finance ministry.”
Ncube attributed the delay to resource constraints and administrative challenges before assuring the lawmakers that the money would be disbursed starting April 10, 2025.
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“The disbursements of those funds will occur soon. Certainly I have been assured that by the end of next week, there will be quite a bit of movement in disbursement of these funds,” he said.
“In terms of policy, our policy is to disburse and support the constituencies through the CDF mechanism.”
Kuwadzana East legislator Chalton Hwende pointed out that the minister had misled Parliament before with regards to the disbursement of the money.
“The question which was asked was only for you to state a day for next week because there is a ruling which was made by the Speaker of Parliament on a motion of contempt of Parliament which he wanted to pass against yourself,” Hwende said.
“This is because you came to Parliament on three occasions and then you misled Parliament, resulting in pressure being put on Members of Parliament.
“In Bulawayo, in our budget meeting, you even gave a date and that was in November. You then came here, in this august House and that was in December. On three occasions misleading Parliament and misleading Parliament is a serious offence."
Harare East legislator Kevin Mutimbanyoka sought clarity on whether the promised disbursement would be backdated to 2023.
CDF is a government programme where funds are allocated to elected MPs to develop their constituencies.
CDF was allocated ZiG270 million in the 2025 budget.
According to law, only legislators in the National Assembly who represent constituencies directly are eligible to receive the funds.
Parliament has 360 legislators but only 210 receive CDF financing.
