KAMFINSA PF member of parliament Christopher Kang’ombe says the K5 million allocated for loans and grants under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is not adequate.

And Kang’ombe says he has not yet decided whether or not to contest the PF presidency at the general conference slated for June.

In an interview, Kang’ombe appealed to the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to release the K25.7 million CDF at once, rather than in instalments.

“The money is not enough. The fact of the matter is that the K5 million which has been allocated for both loans and grants is not adequate considering the number of cooperatives that have registered under Kamfinsa. So, on one hand, there is this heightened expectation that groups can access money, on the other hand, there is no money, it is not adequate. I personally wish that more resources would have been put into that programme because the programme is well intended to register cooperatives and then we give them money to get started. But when you compare K5 million against the number of registered cooperatives, we will be overwhelmed, we may not manage to assist everyone in this financial year,” Kang’ombe said.

“I want to have sensitisation meetings in all wards because everyone thinks they will get money this year but looking at the amount, it is not adequate. Our appeal is that the Ministry of Finance should release the entire K25 million at once because once the funds are available, it is easy to plan, it is easy for us to guide the residents. As things stand, the money has not come for 2022, the money which is there is for 2021 and projects have already been assigned and we have written to the ministry to approve the projects we have identified for the K1.6 million.”

And Kang’ombe said he was still analysing the situation before deciding whether or not to contest the PF presidency.

“I have no decision yet. You know the challenge is that you want to make a decision and then you are analysing the dynamics and you want to make the right decision. I would rather see how things unfold, how the dynamics unfold and I will be able to decide. Right now, I am still reviewing the situation,” said Kang’ombe.