Kisumu County Assembly passes Bill on Regional Bloc formation.

 Kisumu County Assembly Members leaves the chambers today after passing the Lake Region Economic Bloc Bill 2018.-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo.

By Dickson Odhiambo

October 17, 2018.

Kisumu County Assembly passes  Bill on Regional Bloc formation.

THE COUNTY Assembly of Kisumu becomes the third county within the 14 member Counties to pass the Lake Region Economic Bloc Bill 2018 that seeks to legalize the formation of the Lake Region Economic Bloc.

Other Counties within the Bloc which have since passed the LREB Bill 2018 include Kakamega and Kisii Counties with Kakamega being the first to pass it followed by Kisii County which did it last week.

The Members of the County Assembly of Kisumu unanimously agreed and passed the Bill after its third reading in the House today October 17, 2018.

In a session that has been chaired by temporary speaker Eric Agola, the MCAs passed the Bill with some amendments which now takes effects immediately after the ratification of the Bill.

MCAs while debating on the Bill said the Bloc will not only benefit Kisumu County alone which houses its Headquarters but also the other 13 counties which are members of the Bloc.

Some MCAs argued that the establishment of the regional bank should not form the basis of the formation of the Lake Region Economic Bloc.

After serious debate on the Bill, it has been passed exactly 10:51am and will become an Act of the County Government of Kisumu.

“The House has passed the LREB Bill 2018 today October 17, 2018 at exactly 10:51am and it will become an Act of County Government of Kisumu,” Speaker Agola said.

So far only three Counties who are members of the Lake Region Economic Bloc have passed the Bill while the remaining 11 members of the bloc are yet to pass it.

The Lake Region Economic Bloc Bill 2018 seeks to legalize the formation of the Lake Region Economic Bloc {LREB} which has been formed by 14 Counties.

The Lake Region Economic Bloc {LREB} is comprised of 14 counties namely Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, Kericho, Nandi, Bomet , Trans Nzoia, Vihiga, Kakamega,Bungoma and Busia.

The Bloc is a conglomerate of fourteen counties which have integrated for purposes of socio-economic development and regional prosperity.

The 14 Counties have similar ecological zones and natural resources; they have analogous cultural histories that date back to historical migrations and trading routes.

A partnership between the counties is both essential and timely and creates a practical framework through which county government efforts can be pooled to harness the abundant natural resources, build on existing strengths and address challenges.

LREB’s economic Blueprint was born out of the understanding that strategic connections between counties with shared interest seated in a desire for mutual benefit can be an effective intelligent means of increasing the possibility of creating notable development impact across several counties.

It has a vision of being a world class bloc in promotion of sustainable, equitable socio-economic development for a better life while its mission is to achieve sustainable development through coordination, promotion, resource mobilization, innovation and enhancement of equitable economic integration in the Lake region.

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