Early this month (2-3 June) members of Endebess Constituency NG-CDF Committee and secretariat visited Ikolomani Constituency on a benchmarking mission. The delegation of Endebess led by their NG-CDF Committee chairman and Fund Account Manager arrived in Ikolomani NG-CDF offices in Malinya at 8 am to kick start the benchmarking mission.

Ikolomani NG-CDF Committee members and the secretariat led by their Chairman Mr. David Muliru cheerfully gave the visitors the accustomed constituency’s warm hospitality filled with ululations to the opening session held in the MP’s boardroom.

“Our main purpose of visiting is to learn the best practices from Ikolomani Constituency NG-CDF to enrich our work back in Endebess,” said Mr. Gilbert Ngirio, Endebess Constituency NG-CDFC chairman. In his opening remarks, Ngirio informed the meeting that his area Member of Parliament Hon. Dr. Robert Pukose was aware of the visit and supported it as a way of generating knowledge to enhance utility of NG-CDF in Endebess Constituency.

Ikolomani NG-CDF chairman, Mr. Muliru also confirmed the blessings of Ikolomani Constituency Member of Parliament. Hon. Benard Shinali for the visit and urged for networking of visiting members and their host in efforts to share and exchange knowledge.

The two day event was preceded by panel and open forum discussions where members shared on how projects identified, implemented and monitored. Discussions were centered on social security fund, bursaries, environment, sports and security. The discussions also delved into issues of procurement and different modals employed by the two NG-CDFs sharing on the advantages and shortcomings of different approaches.

Members visited various projects in the four wards of the Constituency fully funded by NG-CDF Ikolomani. “We are happy that our visit culminated into key lessons that we are taking back to Endebess,” said Mr. Benson Tindi, Endebess Constituency Fund Account Manager. His Ikolomani counterpart Mr. Tom Oriwa applauded members for actively participating in the exchange programme adding that lessons learnt will help mitigate challenges facing implementation of NG-CDF projects to enhance sustainability.