Governor for Elgeyo Marakwet Wisley Rotich speaking after a meeting in Eldoret for counties in the North Rift/FILEGovernors in the North Rift region have put forward a plan to advance peace and development in the Kerio Valley region, which has been ravaged by many years of banditry.
The governors, through the North Rift Economic Bloc, contend that the region possesses significant potential and resources that can be harnessed to transform it into a hub of prosperity.
Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, who also chairs Noreb, said for long-term peace and stability, there must be an endeavour to address the underlying issues that ignite banditry.
“There is need to have a development marshal plan for the region and we are working with partners to see the intervention that will help us exploit the potential in that region,” Sang said.
The existing potential in agriculture and minerals and the mining sector has the capacity to benefit the entire country, he said.
“That is why we are seeking to work with all development partners and the national government to exploit the potentials that can sustain peace and stability.”
Sang noted that the government had made efforts to stabilise the region, where the situation had deteriorated following the killing of Catholic priest Ambrose Bett two months ago.
The governor said banditry had hindered development, adversely affecting residents and therefore, methods must be found to implement sustainable development and peace.
“We must work to silence the guns in that region and stop the bleeding because when Kerio Valley is hurting then all of us and neighbouring counties are also hurting.”
Sang spoke in Eldoret after a Noreb meeting where the group signed new MoUs with Kerio Valley Development Authority and National Council of Churches of Kenya, focusing on development and peace initiatives.
Sang had led county chiefs from the region who signed the agreements in Eldoret, where they were hosted by Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii.
West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin and his Elgeyo Marakwet counterpart Wisley Rotich were also in attendance.
KVDA's mandate covered five of Noreb’s eight counties, Sang explained, but they agreed to extend this mandate under the MoU to encompass the entire region.
He mentioned that the partnership would involve collaboration in several areas, including resource mobilisation, agriculture, climate change mitigation and peace efforts.
Sang said although KVDA was among regional bodies earmarked by the government for disbandment, they had proposed that the authority remain operational.
“We want KVDA to continue to exist but with a wider mandate in many other areas of cooperation,” he said.
The authority will serve as the implementing partner, primarily for donor-funded projects and activities, while NCCK was included owing to its role in peace-building and the economic and social transformation of the region.
“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,” Sang said.
Rotich expressed satisfaction with the government's efforts to restore stability in Kerio Valley and to roll out the implementation of key development programmes.
