County Government of West Pokot, KVDA Sign MoU to Promote Sustainable Development
The County Government of West Pokot has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) to collaborate on sustainable development programmes in the county.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed today between the Governor of West Pokot H.E Simon Kachapin and KVDA Managing Director, Mr. Sammy Naporos, the two parties pledged to enhance cooperation and work together for sustainable development in several areas but not limited to promoting beekeeping value chain, upscale of fish value chain especially in Turkwel Dam, climate change mitigation and conservation including soil conservation, promote modern and commercial viable climate smart agriculture, water harvesting and storage for agricultural activities and domestic use, capacity building for beekeepers and artisans, diversification of income generating activities, joint peace initiatives and resource mobilization for programmes.
The MOU said the Governor Simon Kachapin, will enable the county to collaborate more on issues affecting the people of West Pokot from food security to climate change where he noted that KVDA has played a critical role in the development of the county, and the formal framework shared will provide for more comprehensive cooperation.
He however stressed the need to ensure sustainability of the programmes by capacity building the locals and continued collaboration with the county government.
Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) is one of the six Regional Development Authorities (RDAs) in Kenya, established by an Act of Parliament CAP 441 with a mandate to, in part, initiate, plan and develop resources along the Kerio River basin.
Through its programmes, KVDA has been able to improve the livelihoods of 9,200 households with 500,000 livestock benefiting from water resources.
Currently, WeiWei integrated irrigation scheme produces more than 500 tonnes of maize while 300 hectares of Lomut irrigation scheme expected to be under irrigation. Notably, bee keepers across the larger Pokot North produce 120 tonnes of honey, resulting in Ksh. 60 million in income.
Also present during the MoU signing were KVDA directors Simon Kalekem and Christine Jepkoech, CEC Claire Parklea, Chief Officers Naomi Lemreng, Paul Lalat, County Attorney Robert Katina, Chief of Staff Tyno Rotino among other officials from KVDA and the county.
