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Kisumu, Kenya, 8th November 2011: The new Secretary General of the Lake Victoria Regional Local Authorities Cooperation (LVRLAC), Mr. Wilber Bateisibwa, yesterday promised to strengthen the organisation’s existing ties with the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC). Mr. Bateisibwa made the commitment during a courtesy call on the Executive Secretary, Lake Victoria Basin Commission. He was received by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Project and Programmes), Mr. Samuel Kerunyu Gichere; the Deputy Executive Secretary (Finance and Administration), Mr. Stanley Matowo; and the Commission’s staff at the LVBC Secretariat in Kisumu, Kenya, during his first visit in his new capacity.
The LVRLAC Secretary General outlined the progress made in line with the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between LVBC and the Cooperation, including: the successful hosting of the 2nd Lake Victoria Stakeholders Forum held in Kisumu, Kenya, in October 2009 – under the auspices of the Lead Partner Inter-Agency Networking Forum; membership on the Lake Victoria Water Supply and Sanitation (LVWATSAN) Programme Phase II; and the training of its members in various fields to allow for an enabling investment environment as recommended by the first Lake Victoria Basin Investment Forum held in Mwanza, Tanzania, in December 2010. Mr. Bateisibwa hailed the existence of the MoU between LVBC and LVRLAC. “Under the MoU, LVRLAC’s responsibility is to mobilise and coordinate the local authorities’ actions to implement LVBC programmes and policies towards the realisation of the shared vision and strategy framework, ” he said, adding that LVBC, on its part, committed itself to strengthen the relationship with LVRLAC through, among others, project- and programmes-development as well as resource-mobilisation in the spirit of the MoU. Mr. Kerunyu Gichere, on behalf of the Executive Secretary, highlighted the Commission’s role as a promoter, facilitator and coordinator of the sustainable development agenda of the Lake Victoria Basin in line with LVBC mandate and the Shared Vision and Strategy Framework for the Lake Victoria Basin. He observed that the meeting was an opportunity to “re-energise” the relationship between LVRLAC and LVBC. Mr. Matowo, on his part, explained the progressive growth in both human and financial resources at the Commission and indicated that the Partner States had commenced consideration of the possibility of expanding the LVBC mandate to include other water bodies in the East African Community. The LVRLAC is a network of over 100 member local authorities in the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Uganda parts of the Lake Victoria Basin and is currently considering the membership of Burundian and Rwandan local authorities. Mr. Bateisibwa became the Secretary General in September 2011. He was accompanied to the meeting at LVBC by Mr. Bernard Obera and Mr. Zaheus Okoth Okech of LVRLAC. Both LVRLAC and LVBC undertook to explore opportunities of scaling-up of their cooperation towards achievement of the sustainable development goal of the Basin and for posterity.
For more information, please contact: Mr. Charles-Martin Jjuuko, Communications and Development Awareness Officer, Lake Victoria Basin Commission Secretariat; Tel: +254 57 2023873; Cell: +254 726 760127; Email:
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