The government through the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) plans to implement the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Act before its term ends.
The Ministry of Rural Development permanent secretary, Selina Boso revealed this when she appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Parliament on Sunday.
The PAC had scrutinsed the $3.9 billion budget.
Boso said a Cabinet sub-committee had already met and discussed the CDF Act and its draft regulation.
She said work on the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act needs to happen as well in order to see how the CDF Act can complement it.
“We cannot go alone with the CDF Act because it is not stand alone.
“We need to look at the PFM Act because it is dealing with public money as well before looking at the CDF Act,” Mrs Boso said.
She said the PFM Act is bigger than the CDF Act, therefore it has weight over it.
The last government passed the CDF Act in 2003.
However, the Democratic Coalition for Change (DCC) government is still to gazette the Constituency Development Fund Regulations.
Transparency Solomons was one of the critics of the CDF Act because it gives full legal recognition to the concept of the infamous Rural Constituency Development Fund (RCDF).
Under the Act, it will create 50 constituency development funds similar to the RCDF.
Furthermore, each MP will receive and administer public funds for his constituency – totaling close to $6 million per annum per MP.
By EDDIE OSIFELO