The outgoing Executive Secretary, Dr. Ally-Said Matano outlined key achievements for his tenure of service at the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) since June 2016 up to June 2021.
Briefing the media on 4th June 2021 at the LVBC Headquarters, Kisumu, Kenya, Dr. Ally-Said Matano remarked, “I am leaving the office a contended man. I promoted staff cohesion. That one I was able to do it within 100 days of my term.” He observed.
He noted, the practice of articulating his achievement through the Media briefing is in tandem with the LVBC’s core values, specifically promoting integrity and his personal belief in leadership that underpins accountability.
Upon ascendency to LVBC leadership in June 2016 for five year term, similarly, Dr. Matano briefed media to outline his strategic priorities and targets which included: negotiation for funds to construct LVBC Headquarters, promoting staff cohesion, enabling LVBC get a guiding legal instrument (LVBC Act) and steer initiation of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
The IWRM Programme funded by KFW and European Union is being implemented in four EAC Partner States; Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Kenya and its central focus is improving water quality and quantity in Lake Victoria Region.
Another priority set by Dr. Matano in 2016 included; translation of the Multi-national Transport and Communication on Lake Victoria Project on Lake Victoria from pipeline status to actual implementable project in EAC Partner States. The latter is being implemented in Uganda, Kenya, and United Republic of Tanzania and it seeks to promote safer navigability on Lake Victoria.
Scoring on each set target, the outgoing Executive Secretary applauded the efforts to secure funds from EAC Partner States to construct LVBC Headquarters whose implementation status he qualified as “ongoing and on good course.”
He engaged multiple stakeholders to deliberate on bill’s purposes, content and structure and steered the process of its drafting, review, reading by the members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) until it was translated into an LVBC Act 2020. The legal instrument positions LVBC as an EAC specialized institution with legal personality and with capacity to mobilize resources from Partner States and Development Partners.
The outgoing Executive Secretary applauded the contributions of different actors— the Sectoral Council of Ministers for Lake Victoria Basin (SECOM), EAC Partner States, Development Partners and previous Executive Secretaries in making LVBC a vibrant Commission. Each partner and LVBC Staff, according to the outgoing Executive Secretary significantly contributed to delivering towards the realization of LVBC Mandate: coordinating state and non-state actors towards poverty eradication and sustainable development in Lake Victoria Basin.
Isaac Nyarwaya, the LVBC Principal Resource Mobilization Officer will act the interim Executive Secretary pending the recruitment and the appointment of the Executive Secretary by the EAC Council of Ministers. He sought support from each staff in ensuring the transition is smooth-sailing.
