Vote of Thanks for H.E. Kivutha Kibwana.Pdf

COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS

VOTE OF THANKS FOR H.E. PROF. KIVUTHA KIBWANA, WHIP, COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS AND GOVERNOR MAKUENI COUNTY

6TH ANNUAL DEVOLUTION CONFERENCE KIRINYAGA UNIVERSITY, KIRINYAGA COUNTY 4TH – 8TH MARCH, 2019

Your Excellency Dr. William Ruto, the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, Rt. Hon. Sen. Kenneth Lusaka, Speaker of the Senate, Excellency Governors, Hon. Eugene Wamalwa, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Devolution & ASAL, Honorable Senators, Deputy Governors, Honorable Members of Parliament, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Missions, Members of the County Assemblies, Other National Government and County Government Representatives, International Delegates, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

1. On behalf of the Council of Governors, I take this opportunity to first and foremost thank H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, the President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Dr. William Ruto the Deputy President, and Rt. Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga for gracing us with their presence in this year’s devolution conference. We have heard that your support for devolution remains unshaken.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 2. I would like to recognize the hard work of the Steering Committee and the Planning Committee and all the other institutions represented here who took time to plan and prepare for the conference- asanteni sana.

3. A special thank you to our host, Governor Anne Waiguru, for your warm hospitality. We will leave Kirinyaga County with fond memories, especially that Kirinyaga is lising (rising). Fellow Governors and our esteemed Senators, our valued Deputy Governors, our Speakers, and Members of the County Assemblies, asanteni for staying on for the discussions. I hope that the delegates found all you County leaders accessible. We also grateful to National Government reps who put in resources and took time for this conference- CSs, PSs, CASs and all staff who participated in this conference- we value you. And to you Senate football team, our worthy competitors, who showed the devolution family that it takes commitment, practice, discipline to emerge as champions of a course. This is a worthy lesson as we go back to our Counties, and indeed even at a personal level.

4. To our sponsors, we could not have held this conference successfully without you.

5. Private sector partners, led by the platinum sponsor Safaricom. County Pension Fund (CPF), Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Multichoice, Lapfund, Cocacola, Cooperative Bank, Isuzu, DT Dobie, Huawei and KenGen.

6. The foundations: Children Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and Chandaria Foundation.

7. Development Partners led by UNWomen who supported women from Counties as far as Nyamira, Nyandarua, Nandi and Taita-Taveta. We thank you for supporting the Women’s innovation space. Other development partners we say thank you to- USAID through AHADI and their other partners, UKAID, Africa Green Revolution Alliance (AGRA), WaterFund, UNDP, World Food Programme (WFP), SDG Platform, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Millennium Water Alliance and Emergency Medical Services.

8. National Government agencies- Nairobi Center for International Arbitration (NCIA), State Department for Gender Affairs, Ministry of Devolution and ASAL, Senate, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), and Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC).

9. Civil society partners- Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA).

10. And we will not forget this great university of Kirinyaga, who wholeheartedly provided the conference ground to us. You may not know this, but the university was in session during this conference. I therefore thank the Vice- Chancellor and the entire university fraternity and the students for their grace during this time.

11. And the vendors and suppliers who provided quality services during this conference. We are truly grateful for your dedication in the last three days.

12. To all our delegates, we see you as friends of devolution and we do not take you for granted. For those we offended through some of our processes, tunaomba msamaha. As a kikuyu saying goes, two axes in a Kiondo will not fail to rub against each other. Forgive us. We look forward to seeing you next time.

13. It is the rich discussions here that have led to the comprehensive communique that has just been read. Our task now is to follow up keenly on the resolutions to see them implemented.

14. Again, thank you all for your contribution to the Sixth Annual Devolution Conference. As you go home, take our greetings and drive slowly. There is no hurry. We need you next time.

God bless.