Kakamega County governor Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya who chairs both Council of Governors (CoG) and Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) is set to resign as LREB chairman.
Oparanya while announcing his intention to resign from the post explained that the responsibilities of chairing both the bloc and the CoG have become overwhelming.
Oparanya further notes that he has been delegating majority of his LREB duties to his deputy Professor Philip Kutima due to numerous CoG meetings in Nairobi.
The bloc consists of 14 counties: Kakamega, Bomet, Bungoma, Busia, Kericho, Homa Bay, Kisii, Kisumu, Migori, Nandi, Nyamira, Siaya, Trans Nzoia and Vihiga.
LREB was launched in 2015 as an instrument of fast-tracking development projects within member counties. Each county would contribute to an LREB Bank, which is yet to be formed, and funds would be used to facilitate their agenda.
The bloc has received opposition from lobby groups which are calling for public participation before member counties pass the LREB Bill into law.
