Regional Block officials tell off Senators over ban project

Lake region economic Block chairman Wycliffe Oparanya (Left) with vice chairperson Joyce Laboso during a consultative meeting with 14 members of county assemblies of the Lake Region Economic Block in Kisumu on October 12th 2018. [Photo: Collins Oduor/Standard]

The Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) has accused some senators in the 14-member counties of working against efforts to establish a development bank for the region.

Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, who is also the LREB chairman, and Abala Wanga, the secretariat’s CEO, warned the senators against politicising the bloc.

The organisation is currently seeking Sh200 million from each member county to fund the bank.

“We have said LREB is not about politics. The main reason the bloc was established is to boost the social and economic welfare of the 14 million people in the counties that form the bloc,” said Mr Oparanya.

Economic bloc

“I wonder why the senators are trying to politicise LREB and its activities. This will undermine the economic bloc if it remains unchecked,” he added.

“Our intentions towards the millions of people we are targeting - so they can bank with us and secure cheap loans - are good.”

Instead of establishing a new bank, the governors are planning to use the money to buy an existing bank and re-brand it.

The bloc has already contracted consultancy firm Deloitte to help it identify a bank for acquisition. The LREB plans to expand the bank eventually to take services closer to as many people as possible.

Deloitte is said to be negotiating with four banks to choose one LREB can buy controlling shares in.

On Wednesday, senators Christopher Langat (Bomet), Okong’o Omogeni (Nyamira) and Samson Cherakei (Nandi) accused LREB officials of failing to seek residents’ views before establishing the bank.

Sensitise leaders

Dr Langat and Mr Omogeni accused the LREB secretariat of failing to sensitise local leaders and the public on the need for a regional bank.

They argued that it did not make sense for the counties to spend as much as Sh200 million each to fund a single project at the expense of other development projects.

But Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula is in support of the project, saying the bank will inspire growth, especially among small-scale and medium enterprises.

So far, Sh1.3 billion has been committed towards the bank project, according to Mr Wanga.

The LREB boss defended the project, saying it aimed to provide cheap loans for residents of the member counties.

This came as the Kisumu county assembly passed the LREB Bill 2018, pushing the economic vehicle closer to reality.

Kisumu became the third county to pass the Bill after Kakamega and Kisii, which passed it last week.

County assembly

Members of the County Assembly in Kisumu unanimously passed the Bill in efforts to propel the bloc towards meeting a quorum needed for it to launch the bank, which is one of its flagship projects, in a week’s time.

The Bill had been pending before the county assembly since May.

Plans to start the regional bank during the LREB’s first trade and investment summit scheduled for October 22 to October 24 in Bomet County have been threatened by a quorum hitch.

This follows delays by some of the member counties to approve the Bill and legalise the bloc’s establishment.

The bloc needs the approval of at least six of the counties to be recognised as a legal entity.

However, Laban Wanjala, Busia County’s majority leader in the county assembly, told the bloc during a meeting in Kisumu last week that MCAs wanted more information before they could debate the matter.

The LREB has given county assemblies two months to ratify the Bill.

“Once the quorum of six counties is achieved, it will be binding to all the 14 member counties,” said Oparanya.