CORD leader Raila Odinga has called on the government to remove unnecessary regulations in order to attract foreign investments.
Speaking in China, the former Prime Minister noted that bureaucratic bottlenecks and unnecessary regulatory mechanisms that still hinder direct foreign investment into Kenyan Counties despite promulgation of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution.
Odinga singled out the unwillingness of the Jubilee Government to facilitate Sovereign Guarantees for foreign Financial Capital inflow into the Counties and involvement of the Public-Private Partnership regulatory unit in approval of PPP agreements entered into by Kenyan County Governments.
Raila who is in China sealed a deal with the China Overseas Agricultural Development Alliance (COADA) aimed at benefiting counties.
According to the deal, Chinese agricultural manufacturing companies will provide Kenyan Counties with farm machinery, mechanised produce harvesting processes, irrigation equipment, fish processing plants, grassroots after sales service outlets, and modern agricultural technology training centers.
A separate group of COADA member companies are exploring the possibility of importing Bamboo products from the Kenyan market, starting with Nyamira County.
The three-tier arrangement will also see farmers benefit from provision of farm inputs, technological skills transfer and guaranteed market for the agricultural produce from the Chinese companies and market.
In a move that could re-engineer Agricultural Systems and practices in the Country, Kenyan Counties are in-turn expected to pool together resources and provide large farmlands ranging between 40-50,000 hectares each as their contributing component to the joint venture,while at the same time enjoying economies of scale from large scale agricultural production through the joint venture initiative.
The COADA team was led by their Secretary General who is also the President of Debont Agricultural Co. Ltd. Mr. Liu Hanwu and President of the Xinjiang International Agricultural Co. Ltd.,Mr. Lu Zhong Also Present from the Chinese side were Mr. Yuang Yongfu,the General Manager of Zoomlion Heavy Machinery Co. Ltd.;Mr. Qiu Jianxin,the General Manager of Xinjian Beixin International Agricultural Construction Co. Ltd.;and Ms. Cindy Wang,the General Manager of Debont Agricultural Co. Ltd. A technical team consisting of members drawn from both sides was constituted to draw an implementation road map complete with detailed work-plan to actualise the MOU. A Pilot project for the same will be implemented within 10 Kenyan Counties that lie within the Lake Victoria Basin.
The Kenyan team comprised of Kakamega County Governor Wycliffe Oparanya,Nyamira County Governor John Nyangarama,Siaya County Governor Cornell Rasanga,Marsabit County Deputy Governor Ali Omar Abdi and Mr. Eliud Owalo,a Management Consultant.
Also present was the Second Counselor at the Kenyan Embassy in Beijing,Mr. John Odipo.