Community Development Fund can be described as a portion of the national annual budget devoted to constituencies for the purposes of infrastructural development, wealth creation and poverty eradication at the constituency level. The rationale of CDF is premised on the need to give the people at the local levels the chance to make informed expenditure decisions that are geared to maximize their welfare.
CDF for Community Based Projects
In Zimbabwe the Community Development Fund Constitution states that, the projects shall include for example, construction, repairs and maintenance of boreholes, purchase of electrical generators for use at schools, clinics and related institutions, community income generating projects as well as other projects that may be approved by the CDF Committee. Unlike other development funds that filter from the central government through larger and more layers of administrative organs, it is expected that the funds under this initiative go directly to local levels and thus provide people at grassroots levels the opportunity to make expenditure decisions as well as have a direct hand in the local development initiatives.
CDF Empowers Communities To Craft Their Development Path
It is highly understood that people at a community level are best positioned to dictate the pace of their own development and to align their problems to possible relevant solutions. This acts as a good initiative for Community Driven Development (CDD) that underlines the identification of the problems and solutions in the lower levels of the community. If implemented constructively, the CDF has a potential of enhancing the capacity of local communities in coping with the challenges they face as well as shaping the landscape of development towards devolution.
An in-depth analysis of both institutional, design and implementation factors of community development reveals something interesting. The central budget allocation cannot wholesomely deal with very specific priority rankings of each local community needs and expectations but can be necessarily broader in focus. Hence the rationale of the CDF becomes relevant in targeting specific needs of relevant communities. Projects are generally expected to vary across constituencies given the different needs of each particular community. Also, there must be local means of accounting for the funds and committees must be obligated to hire local help for implementation of projects before hiring external services. This will ensure that there is job creation and resource retention within the constituency thereby driving towards a viable devolution of vision 2030.
Addressing Governance And Development Challenges
If implemented effectively, the CDF has potential to redress development and governance challenges. It has been noted that the CDF ensures that development project deliver service direct to the local people. Proponents of the CDF argue that the fund makes resources available to communities for development projects of their own choosing. Also the fund proffers legislators an opportunity to respond to the demands from their constituencies, thereby fulfilling some of their elections campaign promises. This in turn, will enhance their visibility, something which will tremendously benefit them during political campaigns in the future.
Promoting Parliamentary Oversight In The Use Of Public Funds
The CDF projects also compel parliamentarians to be accountable to their electorate as well as being transparent in the use public funds. It has been noted that governance is enhanced when people at the local levels are given the chance to make expenditure decisions that are geared to maximize their welfare. In Zimbabwe CDF fits in the devolution model as stipulated in section 264 of the Constitution, which gives powers of local governance to the people to make decisions in matters affecting them.
In summation, the Constituency Development Fund Bill should be expeditiously enacted in order to guide the disbursement and implementation of CDF. The government should harmonize the implementation of CDF with the local government structures, the provincial, metropolitan, and district councils, that are traditionally responsible for local development projects. Therefore if implemented properly, this will buttress and boost development towards devolution in Zimbabwe.
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