Kisumu county government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Gersthofen city of Germany to create linkages and partnerships on development.
Deputy Governor Mathew Owili who signed the document with the Mayor of Gersthofen His Worship Michael Wörle said the pact will see the twinning of Kisumu City and the City of Gersthofen opening up avenues of collaboration in different sectors of the economy.
The collaboration framework, he added, will see various initiatives rolled out in tourism, education, culture, energy, innovation and municipal cooperation with Kisumu set to benefit immensely through benchmarking with the Bavarian City located in the county of Augsburg, Germany.
Dr Owili said through the partnership, Kisumu County has already secured 200,000 Euros funding which will go towards the refurbishment, salarisation and operalisation of Chulaimbo and Kuoyo water projects in Kisumu West Sub-County.
“This significant funding is a result of the Mayor’s visit to Kisumu in 2021 where he met Governor Prof Anyang Nyong’o, laying the foundation for collaborative engagement between the two cities,” he said.
Speaking during the signing ceremony at City Hall in Kisumu, Dr Owili thanked the City of Gersthofen leadership for the gesture saying the engagement was set to give impetus to the various county led development initiatives.
His Worship Michael Wörle said the pact with Kisumu comes after a similar successful partnership with Baringo County where various projects on energy have been rolled out.
“We are the first German City with an energy partnership with Kenya in Baringo County specifically and today we are bringing Kisumu on board,” he said.
The ceremony was also graced by Kisumu City Manager Abala Wanga, County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) Judith Oluoch, Farida Salim and John Awiti, amongst other officials.
By Chris Mahandara
