President Salva Kiir and Speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba stand at ease during the singing of the national anthem. MARCH 27, 2023. | Photo: Awan Moses/Eye Radio.

President Salva Kiir has directed the Minister of Finance and Planning to pay the withheld ten-year Constituency Development Fund arrears to national lawmakers.

The CDF program was adopted by the former Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly in 2007 to directly boost rural development, but the constitutional obligation was suspended following the 2013 conflict for unknown reasons.

President Kiir has now tasked Minister Dier Tong Ngor to disburse the accrued money for the past ten years to enable MPs to fund projects in their respective constituencies.

“The CDF was created through the act of parliament to enable you the MP’s to directly fund project intended to allow you members of parliament to remain in touch with the citizens,” he said while speaking at Freedom Hall.

He added: “I am directing the ministry of finance and planning to work with you.”

However, President Kiir warned the MPs against misusing the Constituency Development Funds saying some MPs had previously pocketed the funding.

“The parliamentary work must consider dispensing outstanding arrears all to the CDF, but there’s problem some MP’s will go and take CDF money to be their own money but still these issues will come to me and I will process on it.”

Commenting on the matter, Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organizations, said he was impressed by the president’s decision.

Yakani is now appealing to the Finance Ministry to promptly actualize the directive.

“Am so impressed with the speech of the president, on practical aspects that he has mentioned on the speech,” he said.

“The president has directed the minister of finance to make sure that the constituency development fund is released because it’s the only thing that connects the MP’s with the constituency.”

“I actual called the CDF part of peace dividends because if you look at chapter three and chapter four of the agreement always we silent about it and has been neglected for long.”

“Now at least president has directed the minister of finance, and my appeal is that, at least minister of finance should respond directly to the call made by the president for the CDF to be actualized.”

According to the CDF policy, 85 percent of the total allocation to each constituency are directed for projects while just 10 percent goes towards administrative costs.