Governors have been advised to revise their development plans and and budgets to realign them to the national government’s Big Four agenda.
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya yesterday most County Integrated Development Plans and Annual Development Plans should be amended.
Annual budgets too should be altered through supplementary budgets to conform to the programme, he said.
Oparanya, who also chairs the Lake Region Economic Bloc, spoke yesterday in Kakamegawhen he signed into law the Dairy Development Corporation Bill 2017 and the Trade and Markets Bill 2018.
“When we prepared our development plans, the Big Four had not come up and we must reexamine them,” he said.
The governor said counties should leverage on programmes of the national government “through linkages and synergies”.
County governments have until tomorrow, June 30, to pass their budgets. Most have already done so.
Oparanya said county governments are the implementing agencies for the Big Four since key sectors are devolved.
The Big Four comprises universal healthcare, affordable housing, food security and manufacturing.
Oparanya said the four “cross-utting” issues in the lake region are forest conservation, revival of the ailing sugar industry, establishment of a regional bank and water transport in Lake Victoria.
The bloc comprises Kakamega, Busia, Kisumu, Bungoma, Vihiga, Trans-Nzoia, Siaya, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, Nandi, Kericho and Bomet counties.
The bloc has an estimated population of 14 million people.
Oparanya said water transport will ease movement of people and goods within the region and improve the Western tourism circuit.
He said the bloc will hold an investment conference in Bomet in October.
“We are hoping that by then we shall have been able to buy into a bank and launch it during the meeting,” the governor said.
He said government employees from the region will form one
co-operative society to encourage the culture of savings.
Oparanya said the two bills he signed will help improve the dairy industry and promote local economic development.
