The Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) leadership, Regional programmmes and Project Coordinators and staff are formulating the next strategic plan for 2016-2021. The retreat taking place at Sosa Cottage, Vihiga County the Republic of Kenya, started on July, 12th will end on 14th with clarity of the future LVBC and her stakeholders want by 2021. The formulation of the strategic plan builds on an inside-out systematic review of the current strategic plan–successes, challenges, lessons learnt and way forward.
Opening the meeting, Mr. Patrice Niyongabo, the Deputy Executive Secretary for Finance and Administration, lauded the development of the LVBC Strategic Plan “by Staff themselves” The approach of formulating the Commission’s strategy by LVBC reflects that the final product will depict the aspirations and expectations of the Commission, East African Community’s (EAC) Regional Integration agenda, development needs of EAC Partner States and sustainable development priorities. The Deputy Executive Secretary emphasized on the strategic effectiveness: the need to set ambitious but achievable goals. Right goals, he said, should hinge on smart objectives and measurable indicators so that the strategy is bound to progressive performance monitoring and eventual evaluation to “determine the degree to which our strategic goals will have been achieved.”
Through question and answer session and group discussions, the technical arm of the of the strategic plan development process, pertinent issues for consideration were brought forth. The Planning and Economic Officer, Hatungimana Dieudonné led the team into reviewing the current Strategic Plan, marking the progress and presenting the way forward.“We had a good strategic plan, but we owe ourselves the best one. We have full confidence in the team that a fine product will come out,” Niyongabo added.
Presenting the Evaluation Report of the current Strategic Plan, Paul Kariuki, the LVBC Monitoring and Evaluation Officer said: “most of the identified development objectives in the Strategic Plan were satisfactorily achieved.” The development objectives included: to strengthen coordination and management capacity of LVBC, to enhance partnership and collaboration with EAC Organs, institutions and key stakeholders, to harmonize policies, regulations and standards and strengthen institutional development and governance in natural resources management, to improve public health services on HIV/AIDS: reproductive health, water supply, sanitation, gender, nutrition and health systems strengthening, to improve safety of navigation and security on Lake Victoria and to enhance management of ecosystems, natural resources including climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. The purpose of the current strategic plan has been to guide the implementation and monitoring of the LVBC specific strategic interventions as defined in the 4th EAC Development Strategy (2011-2016) aimed at improving socio-economic development in the Lake Victoria Basin.
