Governors from the Central Region Economic bloc (CEREB) have called upon the national government to include several crops key to their region into the priority value chain of the country due to their importance to the economy of the region.
The governors from 10 counties that make up the bloc said they were going to engage the national government to include eight crops which comprise of; coffee, potatoes, pyrethrum, avocado, macadamia, wheat, maize, and bananas to the value chain priority list in terms of financing in order to spur economic growth of the region.
The governors led by their chair Mr. Mutahi Kahiga said leaving these crops from the priority list of the value chain will make the bloc to lag behind in development, yet it produces 28 per cent of the country`s Gross Economic Product(GDP).
“We plan to engage the national government to ensure the crops which are the mainstay of the region`s economy are included in the priority list of the value chain in terms of financing in order to help the region grow economically,” Kahiga who is also the Nyeri County Governor said.
The governors were speaking to the media at the end of their two-day meeting in Naivasha on Friday. The meeting was also attended by the County Executive Committee Members (CECs) from counties that make up CEREB.
The counties include; Nakuru, Nyandarua, Kiambu, Murang`a, Laikipia, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Embu, Tharaka- Nithi and Meru.
Kahiga revealed that their bloc had signed a legal framework with development partners to help develop the region and they intend to hasten to complete the 2013 CEREB economic bill in all their county assemblies which is an improvement from the one of 2019 which is yet to be approved.
Tharaka – Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki said the bloc seeks to bring devolution from Council of Governors (COG) to the region to spur development. He also appealed to the office of the Controller of Budget (COB) and that of the Auditor General (AG) to allow the counties to set aside some funds from their budgets to fund the activities of the regional bloc in order to bring economic growth to the region instead of depending on donors.
By Mabel Keya – Shikuku
