The Bondo Municipal Council in Siaya County and Taber Municipal Council in Alberta, Canada, have signed a twinning agreement designed to promote collaborative activities that would ensure development projects in the two towns comes to fruition.
The twinning agreement by the two towns was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Bondo, presided over by the Siaya County Governor, Cornel Rasanga and the Mayor of Taber Municipality, his Lordship Andrew Prokop.
The signing of the MoU comes after years of deliberation following the visit by Rasanga to Canada in 2018, where he met Mayor Prokop and his Taber Municipality Councilors to discuss possibilities of creating a collaborative relationship.
Taber Municipality which has a population of slightly above eight thousand inhabitants is known globally for its corn production which feeds the entire Canada.
Speaking in Bondo after the signing of the MoU between the two municipal councils, Prokop said the twining of the two Administrative Units will create linkages to spur exploitation of existing opportunities in the towns.
Prokop said the agreement will put the two towns at the world stage and ensure they are globally connected.
“Although we are miles apart our people share same aspirations for better lives. The formal signing of twinning agreement between Bondo and Taber is a monumental occasion in our history designed to promote collaborative activities to ensure our development projects comes to fruition,” said Prokop.
“It has been said that if it can’t grow in Taber then it probably can’t grow anywhere else in the world. Taber is blessed with fertile land and favorable climatic condition that allows for crop production through mechanized farming which the twining agreement will allow us to share and train farmers in Bondo,” Prokop added.
Siaya County Governor, Cornel Rasanga, lauded the signing of the MoU, saying the two communities have a lot that can be of mutual benefit saying that Siaya County has enormous investment opportunities for the people of Taber.
“On my last visit to Canada four years ago a number of individual investors asked me about investment opportunities in Siaya, Mr Andrew, if you go back please tell them what you saw and inform them we have enough land for them here,” Rasanga said.
The Governor urged Prokop to partner with Bondo town in the sectors of affordable housing, waste management, fire stations, urban storm water drainage system, capacity building for effective physical planning, land use plans and food production which includes food processing as areas which require support to ensure growth.
He said that besides sharing strong agricultural background, the people of Bondo and Taber have the opportunity to strengthen cultural and social interactions through the twining not only to better their lives but also to create a mutual understanding of people from the two towns.
Rasanga commended, Mr John Orwa, who is the Chief Financial Officer of Taber Municipality for keeping the twining talks alive since his visit adding that Orwa, a son of Siaya, is a testimony that Siaya has capable human resource for export that would benefit the people of Canada.
The occasion was attended by acting Bondo Mayor, Philip Wasonga, Lands CEC, George Rubik, Chairman Bondo County Council, Mr Olum Gondi and Members of Bondo Municipal Council Board who welcomed the twining agreement and pledged to work closely with the Taber Municipality in Alberta Canada.
Prokop has been on a four-day tour of Siaya County where he visited several development projects and tourism attracting sites in the county.
By Brian Ondeng’
