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Swiss Ambassador to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi Dr Swiss Ambassador to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi Dr. Ralf Heckner Remarks at the Kenya RAPID & KIWASH Launch, Thursday, 18 February 2016, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Safari Park, Nairobi The third president of the Republic of Kenya and the Global Ambassador for Water- His Excellency Mwai Kibaki Cabinet Secretary, Water and Irrigation, Hon. Eugene Wamalwa Principal Secretary, Water and Irrigation, Prof. Fred Sigor Governors, Ambassador of the United States of America, His Excellency Robert Godec USAID Global WASH Coordinator – Mr. Chris Holmes Representatives of the Private Sector Ladies and Gentlemen Good morning. It is a pleasure and an honour to be with you today to launch this important new partnership; a partnership partly funded by the Swiss government with the aim of enhancing drought resilience in Northern Kenya. But most importantly, this partnership will contribute to help a good number of Kenyans live a better life. Switzerland has been investing in Kenya’s economic development for a very long time – and continues to do so. Today, Switzerland’s development activities are mainly concentrated in the Northern Counties bordering Somalia and Ethiopia. You might wonder: Why that particular geographic focus on Northern Kenya? During the famine of 2012, Switzerland provided humanitarian aid. But, we quickly recognised that the key, which is known to all of you, is resilience. If we wanted to contribute to an end of the recurrent drought emergencies, we would have to invest in strengthening the resilience of the pastoralist communities in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) of the Horn of Africa. As a result, Switzerland launched a Regional Development Programme for the Horn of Africa with a special focus on the arid and semi-arid lands in the region. With respect to Kenya the Northern Counties were prioritised with key thematic focus first and foremost on food security, then governance, migration and health. With our contribution of 7.5 Mio. $ (750 Mio. KES) to today’s new K- RAPID programme, Switzerland renews her cooperation commitment with Kenya and the Counties of Wajir, Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit and Turkana. What is K-Rapid? K-Rapid builds on lessons learnt from the “Water for Livestock” project – entirely supported by Switzerland – in Isiolo and Garissa and contributed to the construction of water infrastructure such as sub- surface dams and other water storing facilities for pastoralist communities. Let me now give you the Swiss perspective on K-RAPID. Firstly, K-RAPID is all about partnership: The county governments, the private sector, implementing NGOs, donors, are all contributing to jointly address the development challenges in the water sector of Northern Kenya. Have a look at today’s banner and you will be able to grasp the diversity of the stakeholders here present. Switzerland is convinced that only a concerted public-private partnership approach has the potential to achieve overall longer-term sustainable changes. Secondly, K-Rapid builds on the opportunities of devolution. The devolution of power and resources in Kenya has opened a window of opportunity for counties to spearhead their own development. K-Rapid is about strengthening public and private sector institutions when it comes to water management. Thirdly, Switzerland – as a Federation of 26 Cantons – herself is a highly devolved country. Over the centuries, we have learned the importance of continuous negotiations around power and resource sharing between the Federal State and the Cantons. We have learned how to define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders. Kenya stands at the very beginning of this exciting route. Patience and commitment are of the essence to make devolution work for everyone. In conclusion, let me say how excited I am to be part of this initiative. I am looking forward to seeing the development of a stronger leader- and ownership of county governments in the implementation process for one very simple reason: Our history has taught us, that strong local institutions, supported by a national government, are key to prosperous and peaceful development. Thank you for your attention. .
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