The North Rift Economic Bloc counties have signed MoUs with the Kerio Valley Development Authority and the NCCK to help foster peace and development in the region.
Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, who is also chairman of the bloc, led other county bosses from the region in signing the deal in Eldoret, where they were hosted by Uasin Gishu’s Jonathan Bii.
Others present included Governor for West Pokot Simon Kachapin and his Elgeyo Marakwet counterpart Wisley Rotich.
Sang said the mandate of KVDA covered five of Noreb’s eight counties but they had agreed to expand the mandate under the MoU to involve the entire region.
The counties under the bloc are Nandi, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Turkana, Baringo, Samburu, West Pokot and Trans Nzoia.
The partnership would cover working together in several areas including resource mobilisation, agriculture, climate change mitigation and peace issues.
Sang said although KVDA was among regional bodies listed by the government to fold up, they had suggested the authority remain in operation because of its unique mandate.
“We want KVDA to continue to exist but with a wider mandate in many other areas of cooperation,” Sang said.
KVDA would henceforth play the role of implementing partner for the donor-funded projects and activities.
NCCK has been engaged because of its role in peace-building and economic and social transformation.
“We have agreed to a joint cooperation on several programmes coming up and also creating synergy in what we have already been doing with NCCK on the ground,” he said.
The national and county governments are still working together to ensure the Kerio Valley region, which has been affected by banditry for many years, is secure, he added.
The MoU with NCCK will roll out other projects and the new links will see the church's body play a more active role in community projects.
The devolved units have a shared vision for peace and a conducive environment, Kachapin added, which would be enhanced through the new MoUs with KVDA and NCCK.
“We intend to harness the resources we have to ensure we foster peace and development through the various projects we have in our region,” Kachapin said.
Weighing in, Bii said the economic bloc would help foster equitable development through joint projects that would deal with issues like climate change.
The partnerships will ensure the activities implemented are more people-centred and impactful, governor for Elgeyo Marakwet said.
“We want to ensure Noreb will be a unique region where counties will partner with other organisations to help hasten development programmes that benefit our people,” Rotich said.
Also present were KVDA officials led by CEO Sammy Naporos and clerics representing NCCK.
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