CEPO urges public to monitor use of constituency development funds

JUBA, AUGUST 24, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) has appealed to the public to monitor the use of the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) which is part of the 2023-2024 fiscal budget.

In a statement, CEPO’s Executive Director Edmund Yakani said that the CDF funds are being allocated at a critical time and warned that if the public does not take a proactive role, some lawmakers may use the funds for their own electoral campaigns.

“CEPO is urging the public to be proactive on the use of the approved constituencies Development Funds (CDF) in the national budget for the finance year 2023-2024,” Yakani said.

“These funds are approved at critical period where the country is expecting conduct of national general elections. If the public did not take proactive role some the law makers or Parliamentarians may use these funds of ye CDF for their electoral campaigns,” he added.

He revealed that CEPO “already designed community or public sensitization strategy on the transparent use of the CDF.”

“Our plan to for operationalization of our CDF implementation strategy it will be through holding of strategic engagement with the CDF specialized committee in the parliament in the month of September 2023,” he added.

The CDF is a government program that provides financial resources to constituencies for development projects.

The funds are allocated based on the population of each constituency. The CDF is intended to improve the lives of people in the constituencies by funding projects such as schools, hospitals, roads, and water projects.

However, there have been concerns about the misuse of CDF funds in the past. Some lawmakers have been accused of using the funds for their own personal gain, rather than for the benefit of their constituents.