Kakamega Governor and the Chairperson of the Council of Governors Wycliffe Oparanya is engineering plans to have all the public funds invested in one bank.
But should we have all our money under one account? Will it give a leeway for the corrupt officials to extend their money siphoning schemes?
But Oparanya has a very good response to this bright idea.
In his speech on the status of the bloc at the County Assembly of Busia on Wednesday, LREB chairperson Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya said that it was a historical event and a show of strong cooperation.
“Our mission was specifically to talk to MCAS about LREB an institution. We are at an advanced stage of formation of the Regional bank, we are already negotiating with other banks and in the near future we will be making a big announcement on which bank will have agreed as the summit to join as LREB.,” Oparanya said.
He further noted that the implementation of the Lake Region Special Economic Zone (LRSEC) will spur trade in the Region.
Busia became the sixth member county to ratify the LREB Bill, propelling the economic agenda of the 14-member counties.
LREB, which is now a legal entity, seeks to have each of the 14 members making up the bloc contribute Sh800 million for the establishment of a Sh1.9 billion joint bank.
“We called upon the County Assemblies to fast track the passage of the LREB Finance Bill to ensure that the intended targets are achieved, we have reached the minimum requirement of six counties and we have already seen commitment in the remaining counties,” the C.O.G chair noted.
The Governors have further identified 10 pillars to drive the bloc’s development agenda, which are; agriculture, tourism, education, health, financial services, ICT, Water, Environment, Climate Change and Infrastructure to be implemented by respective member counties.
Oparanya said that they have engaged the National government in the revival of the sugar sector where the president has supported the region to make sure that the sugar sector becomes vibrant.