Why NOREB is a grand idea.

Why NOREB is a grand idea.

North Rift Economic Block (NOREB) is a regional economic block in the northern part of the Rift Valley comprised of eight counties namely; Turkana, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Nandi, Uasin Gishu, West Pokot, Samburu and Trans-Nzoia.

They have come together to create a partnership and benefit from an enhanced economic relationship focused on contributing to deeper trade and investment integration

The North Rift region boasts of tourism destinations like Kerio Valley in Elgeyo Marakwet County, highest point Kapsiliot and Sergoit Wildlife Reserve in Uasin Gishu, elephant caves in Mount Elgon, Bungoma County and Lake Bogoria hot springs in Baringo County, sandy beaches of Lake Turkana as well as the Lotikipi planes in Turkana County.

This consortium of counties under the (NOREB) caucus have taken the lead to occupy the economic opportunities  that come with the East African Community (EAC) as a whole..

The NOREB policy framework establishes strong functional units to drive this economic block agenda. The governing organs created include governor’s summit, inter county economic council, technical committee, secretariat and sector technical sub committees. This is a robust approach to enhancing economic relation and it is my hope that regional politics should not be the stumbling block to NOREB’s overall objectives. Perhaps it is time each County share ideas to enhance relations in addressing a myriad of challenges facing the region which are common in nature for example insecurity, poor road infrastructure as well low mobile network penetration among many other challenges.

NOREB should plan to develop a comprehensive regional master plan geared towards making this region the most preferred destination as well the best for any investor willing to do business.

The regions happens to boarder a number of East African countries like Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda as well as take advantage to trade with other East African countries not bordering the region.

 This NOREB grand idea will present enormous benefits to these Counties  if managed well from the onset. NOREB should take advantage of economies of scale in the exploitation of development opportunities, protect and expand our own markets through harmonization of tariffs and adoption of a common inter county tariff.

Promote common projects in trans County boundary issues such as Security, infrastructure, tourism,  energy, water resources and environment just to mention a few.  Forge ahead and work together in international trade negotiations in order to take common positions on local and international issues. This will accelerate socio-economic transformation in the NOREB region.

Great prospects await NOREB as its members relish the centre of the Uganda-Rwanda, Congo Highway, Kitale-South Sudan highway in addition to the Eldoret International Airport whose cargo capacity is yet to be fully reached.

How will the inter county trade flourish in this region?

 For instance, a maize farmer in Uasin Gishu will have an opportunity to sell their produce not just in Eldoret and its environs but they can explore other markets in Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet and  Samburu, counties that do not relay on farming.

In simple terms, farmers from Trans Nzoia and Uasin who produce annually over  4.5M and 5M bags of maize respectively can feed the counties that are maize deficient and make relief food distribution by the Government a thing of the past.

Value addition will be critical in driving social-economic growth; there is an urgent need to evaluate key strengths in each county in order to enhance real economic integration.

Turkana County, has huge investment opportunities in irrigation following the discovery of the water aquifer, livestock, hides and skins tannery and cottage industry. Establishment of abattoirs facilities enable livestock farmers market processed beef products to farming counties like Nandi,Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia.

Baringo County, has potential investment opportunities in cotton, sisal, pyrethrum farming and processing, honey processing and marketing, horticulture value addition not forgetting the Tourist sites like Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria National Reserve.

Samburu, has potential in meat processing, honey processing and sale of hides and skins. One notable event in Samburu is the Camel Derby which has become one of the biggest tourist attraction that requires scaling up through marketing and branding of this unique event to make it a global event.

Nandi County produces an average of over 270 million kilos of green leaf tea for processing every year. Milk production capacity averages between 80 million to 120 million litres annually. This is  a clear indicator that establishing a milk processing plant in Nandi County will go along way to boost milk production through value addition and this will minimize losses to milk farmers as they will enjoy reasonable prices and markets for their milk.

Elgeyo Marakwet County produces a variety of fruits like pawpaws, mangos and bananas this can be enhanced further by establishing a juice processing plan to serve the region.

Prudent utilization of mobile technology and innovation will boost trade among the over 6M NOREB population a local herder from Lokichar Turkana County  can trade with a farmer from Cherengani Trans Nzoia County for maize through use e-commerce without seeing each other, and still receive his order of goods. Mobile is evolving into a platform for creating, distributing and consuming innovative digital solutions and services from all sectors of the economy.

According to Prof. Bitange Ndemo ‘’digitization of virtually every sector is under way in many countries and in many sectors and we cannot afford to be left behind.’’

Success in agricultural sector has greater implications and to meet inter county customer demands,  focus must shift towards innovative production methods around smallholder farmers, use of data at all levels of the supply chain and building sustainable collaborations between farmers and other stakeholders along the supply chain.

‘Growing Together’ clarion call is a welcome idea and stakeholders from all sectors need to champion the success of this economic block. It is my prayer and hope that ‘growing together’ will be our economic mantra despite the political and social differences and will be based on mutual trust, peaceful co-existence and good neighborliness, peaceful settlement of disputes and economic cooperation for mutual benefits for all NOREB populace.

We envision a connected region with good roads and use of information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure as a true enabler of business growth

Let us all Grow Together for prosperity.

The Author

Ekaale Ekuam

Chair, Turkana Professionals Association (TPA).
ekaale.ekuam@gmail.com