PRESEnt At Ion DURIn G Go VERno RS

PRESEnt. At. Ion DURIn. G Go. VERno. RS’ & DEPUt. Y Go. VEno. RS In. DUCt. Ion At DIAn. I REEF BEACh hot. EL KWALE on 15 th DECEMBER 2017 BY H. E. HON. JACKSON K. ARAP MANDAGO – GOVERNOR UASIN GISHU COUNTY & CHAIRPERSON NORTH RIFT ECONOMIC BLOC (NOREB).

Topic: Establishment, Management & Operations of Regional Economic Blocs Case Study: North Rift Economic Bloc (NOREB)

INTRODUCTION: County Economic Blocs County Governments Act Section 6(3) gives County Governments’ powers to enter into partnerships • County regional blocs formed with a view of creating synergy in service delivery • Regional blocs formed; The Lake Basin Regional Economic Bloc, Jumuiya ya County za Pwani, North Rift Economic Bloc, The Mount Kenya Aberdare Counties Trading Bloc, the South Eastern Economic Bloc and Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) • 44 Counties are members in at least one bloc, except for Nairobi, Narok and Kajiado • Five counties are multiple members; Lamu and Garissa are in Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) and Jumuiya ya Pwani while Trans Nzoia and Nandi are in Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) and North Rift Economic Bloc (NOREB) •

Noreb Membership üTurkana County üWest Pokot County üTrans Nzoia County üUasin Gishu County üElgeyo/Marakwet üNandi County üBaringo County üSamburu County

Why Noreb? Take advantage of economies of scale Shared investment opportunities and geographical proximity Competitive and Complementary economic linkages Shared Social issues and ideological similarities Common Cultural and historical issues

Areas of interest for Noreb Oil and gas Tourism Business services ICT sector Trade Agriculture Human Resource (Regional Entrepreneurial Empowerment)

Expected Benefits Attract both local and international investors; Bilateral & Multilateral Fast regional development through increased monetary injection Creation of global affiliations with global funds like USAID Identification of county resource strengths for specific investments Market Noreb as the gateway to East & Central

Noreb Strengths Huge presence of natural resources Abundant labour Resource Strategic location; Gateway to East Africa Community and outlet to COMESA. Available and willing partners. Existing strategic alliances. Open investment opportunities; One stop Shop Unique opportunities in individual counties

Achievements Noreb strategic guide finalized. Noreb policy document finalized. Noreb saw to the establishment of Private Special Economic Zone in Plateau Uasin Gishu (worth Ksh. 200 billions); Masterplan attached below

Eldoret Special Economic Zone

Challenges Poor Infrastructure Weak fiscal and monetary policy coordination Insecurity issues Wide geographical coverage Destructive competition Political influence

Conclusion There is need to anchor county economic blocs in appropriate policy & law There is need to institutionalize county economic blocs within organizational structures. There is need to prepare long-term economic bloc blue prints aligned to vision 2030 (minimum 10 years) Formulate medium term 5 -year regional CIDPs along with MTPs Sensitization of successive leadership establishment of County Regional Economic blocs

THE END THANK YOU