Harare — The Constituency Development Fund remains dry with Treasury still to disburse funds amid reports that money will only be available in the second half of 2010.

The CDF, whose main thrust is spearheading development projects in Zimbabwe's 210 House of Assembly constituencies, has not taken off three months into the year.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti introduced the Fund in his 2010 National Budget and allocated it US$8 million. In an interview yesterday, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga said: "Treasury has advised us that the money will only be available in June and from the look of it there is nothing we can do as a ministry."

The Fund created a lot of excitement from members of the House of Assembly while its administration raised questions from Senators. Minister Matinenga said Government was coming up with the necessary legal instrument to operationalise the Fund. "We need a legal statute that spells out how the money would be managed. The budget statement merely sets out the framework or parameters," he said.

Senators rapped Minister Biti for belittling them after he announced that they attend Fund meetings as ex-officio members. He said members of the House of Assembly would chair the meetings that would include councillors in the constituencies.

The Senators, however, told Minister Biti he was disrespecting them because they represented about three constituencies apiece. Minister Biti, after meeting the senators, said the legislators should agree on how to administer the Fund, either as trustees or under a mutually agreed constitution.

The Trustee mode accords members equal status while crafting a constitution enables members to come up with ways to administer the Fund at local level.