‘Don’t know how I am going to stretch that’
First-time MP juggles demands on $20-million CDF
GREEN ISLAND, Hanover — Facing an “uphill task” of competing community needs and limited resources, Member of Parliament for Hanover Western Heatha Miller-Bennett is asking residents to be patient as the cons
tituency manages its $20-million Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation.
Speaking during a CDF consultation meeting at Green Island High School in Hanover last Monday, Miller-Bennett acknowledged the vast array of proposed projects but warned that the budget cannot cover everything simultaneously.
“I heard all the comments and have noted them, and, rest assured …we will address them. Everything will not be addressed at the same time so I ask for your patience as we go through…,” she appealed.
“There are a lot of things that you want to be done with the $20 million, and I don’t know how I am going to stretch that but I will seek partnership to make it stretch in areas where we can,” the first-term MP added.
Established in the 2008/2009 financial year, the CDF serves as an emergency mechanism to fund small-scale community projects that often get delayed in the central government’s larger bureaucracy.
Each of the country’s 63 MPs is allocated $20 million annually through the CDF to support local, social, and infrastructural projects. An additional $2 million is also made available through the CDF for each constituency to help the vulnerable. Allocations are disbursed through the CDF and relevant implementing agencies, rather than directly to elected officials.
During Monday’s meeting, issues surrounding roads in need of repair, the lack of water supply, the lack of street lights, and poor garbage collection were among the topics raised by residents. In fielding queries about whether some of the challenges could be addressed by the CDF, the fund’s project officer, Orlando Grant, pointed out that even though there is a cap on the amount available, there are ways to optimise the amount.
He cited partnering with the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) as one example of how the fund works with “contributing arms” to “stretch that almighty dollar”.
Grant also noted that central government often provides “special grants” through the CDF to address shortfalls.
“We don’t speak about this regularly, but it happens, and every constituency benefits,” explained the CDF project officer.
Constituency Development Fund Project Officer Orlando Grant providing details about how the fund works. He was speaking during a consultation meeting at Green Island High School in Hanover on Monday.
