MONDE EXPLAINS WHY CDF UNDER UPND IS A FAILED PROJECT
…tips citizens that the New Dawn used CDF to hoodwink them
Lusaka, Wednesday, January 25, 2023 ( Smart Eagles )
PF Presidential Hopeful Hon Greyford Monde has mocked the “methodical” Hakainde Hichilema led UPND administration over its failed CDF.
Hon Monde revealed that the New Dawn Administration is hoodwinking citizens using the said funds.
He told Zambians that the current administration can increase the CDF even up to K200 million knowing very well that it will not be implemented.
The potential PF leader however said the UPND are giving the PF chance to bounce back in 2026 due to the way they have handled the CDF and other national pertinent issues.
He said this when he featured on United Voice Radio today.
“This year, that is when they will start spending that CDF for 2022. They will finish spending it in 2023. So when are they going to receive the CDF for 2023, the one that is K28 million? So if you are working with a person who thinks Zambians are not seeing what is happening, this is what you experience,” he said.
“So the CDF for 2022 will be utilized up to 2023. The one for 2024, you will see that, in any case…look, last year they did not even finish paying the K25 million. If you are budgeting and you are really a business man, will you increase when you have failed to deliver on K25 million?”
He said instead of increasing the money allocated to the CDF, the New Dawn Government needed to be practical around the initiative.
“You are not supposed to increase; you are supposed to leave it static or drop it because there has been a problem for you to give out the money. So you fail to give K25 million in 2022, you are giving in 2023 and in 2023 you fail to say we have failed, therefore we have reviewed,” he said.
“We are bringing it down or we are maintaining, then you increase to K28 million. You know what will happen in 2024? They will increase it to K50 million because they know they will not deliver it in 2024. They will not even implement it because it will go into 2025. In 2025 they will even increase it to K200 million but in real terms they are not even being implemented.”
Hon Monde said the UPND have not done any fruitful project under the CDF.
“So for me, Zambians are seeing and they are watching. At the end of the day they will say ah they (PF) built these clinics in five years in our constituency…. these (UPND) have not even rehabilitated any, they haven’t worked on the roads. This is for PF, that is for PF, they need to come back to power. That is how we are going to come back. These are helping us to come back,” he said.
He slammed the UPND for the way they are using the CDF.
Hon Monde explained most of the projects that UPND have put under the CDF are supposed to be handled in the budget.
“You know what has happened to CDF? This is hoodwinking the Zambians. That CDF has now become funding for the Ministry of Home a
Affairs, that CDF has become Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Health, all the government sectors, anything you want in your Constituency today, CDF. A bridge is falling, CDF…you know what CDF is? It’s supposed to be like impress. Here, you’ve got impress, just in case you’ve got a problem,” he said.
“Because you know that a national budget is planned from a constituency. In a constituency, you have got 50 schools. You know that this school needs renovation. So what do you do? Put it in the budget… you will hear that in the Ministry of education, we have 1,000 schools to rehabilitate. It is not by guessing. Those schools have been registered by the constituencies they are coming from. Now in this government, all of that is under CDF. Is it good management or bad management? It is bad management.”
He explained that the mighty PF managed to cover all the projects that it spread across all corners of the country using the national budget.
“As PF, we would cover all this in budget. By the end of the year, you go into the constituency and ask them how much in real terms have you received from government? You will find that they have received even K200 million through fixing bridges, paying social cash transfer, renovating clinics…That is why you saw, this is year two they are running with that same CDF. Ask yourself a question, what major developments have you seen in constituencies? Have you seen roads being done, have you seen bridges?”
“So at the end of the day when you sit down and calculate you realize no, we are actually hoodwinked. So that I can tell you, it’s not even a good thing. If they want to increase the CDF, let them also increase the amount of money they are going to take to these constituencies. It can’t be CDF only. Constituencies are very big. So when you are going to rate them after five years you will realize that even if they increase CDF to K100 million, if that is the only money going into the constituencies, then there is a problem,” he said.