Constituency Development Fund allocation is imbalanced
Published:Tuesday | July 4, 2023 | 12:15 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
Member of Parliament Mikhail Phillips is right. It makes no rational sense for the Government of Jamaica to give the same Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation of $20 million for every constituency. There are, in fact, disparities between the sizes of many constituencies.
It seems to me that, as Phillips has maintained, the CDF should be allocated according to the size of each of the 63 constituencies across Jamaica. Therefore, the bigger a constituency, the bigger the CDF allocation should be, and vice versa.
A simple methodology could be formulated. For example, a standard sum could be determined per square kilometre, and this number could be used to ascertain how much CDF should be allocated to each constituency. For example, if a constituency is 200 square kilometres, the amount per square kilometre could be put at $100,000 – that figure would be multiplied by 200, for a total of $20 million.
The current practice of allocating the same sum to each constituency is outdated, unfair and irrational, and it needs to be changed.
PATRICK GALLIMORE