14 Governors who are signatories to an MoU creating the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) appended their signatures to a legal instrument that paves way to a formal establishment of the bloc.
The counties on board are Bomet, Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kericho, Kisii, Kisumu, Migori, Nandi, Nyamira, Siaya, Trans Nzoia and Vihiga.
During apprehending of the signatures on Monday, Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya was unanimously elected the First Chairperson of the Summit with Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso being elected the Deputy Chairperson.
Governor Oparanya expressed gratitude to his colleagued for the honour. The Summit also unanimously endorsed Kisumu City as the seat of the bloc's secretariat.
The objective of the group is to leverage on economies of scale and utilize shared resources such as Lake Victoria and other natural resources as well as economic opportunities, in order to catalyse economic development and improve livelihoods of the people-estimated to be over 14 million.
Targeted sectors include Tourism, Agriculture, Education, Infrastructure, ICT, Financial Services, Health, Water and Environment. Top on the bloc's priorities are ratification of various bills developed by the bloc's Council by County Assemblies, establishment of a fully fledged Secretariat and Investment Bank to fast track implementation of projects.
Last week Kakamega County's Treasury CeC member Geoffrey Omulayi was elected the Council Chair.
Kakamega County Secretary, Mrs. Jacinta Odhiambo is also a member.
On arrival, the governors were treated to a guard of honour mounted by County Enforcement officers before proceeding to the meeting in Kakamega.