(All protocols observed)

Congratulations to the Government and people of Bomet on the development and launch of your first-ever county strategic investment plan!

To Governor Ruto, thank you for recognizing the importance that investment plays in development, and for taking action to bring the investment community together in one room.

USAID has a powerful partnership with Bomet, and there are so many things we have already achieved together.  We have been working in Bomet for a long time.   There’s a reason why you see the big USAID sign on the way to Tenwek Hospital.

Our most recent partnership with World Gospel Mission is supporting the construction of an Eye and Dental Care Center at the hospital.  We’ve been working with Tenwek for more than 15 years to strengthen community-led development. 
The US Government, through its’ other agencies, such as Walter Reed Hospital,  is also partnering with local health providers to provide mothers with the information and treatment they need to ensure their babies are born HIV-free. Partner antenatal clinics provide mothers with insecticide treated bednets, so they can protect themselves and their infants from malaria. 

We’ve been here in Bomet helping farmers seize new opportunities in agriculture.  We began supporting what is now the Siongiroi Dairy Farmers Co-operative Society in the mid-1990s.  Back then they were just a group of farmers with hopes to start processing their milk.  Today, they have succeeded in making dairy farming an anchor in their community, and have had a positive impact on people and businesses up and down the value chain.  

President Obama’s Feed the Future Initiative has only accelerated our work.  We work with farmers in Bomet County on three value chains—dairy, maize, and horticulture.  We are helping farmers embrace new tools and technologies that are boosting their harvests and incomes.    As an example, we are supporting the scale up of an innovation called ‘Viazi Power’, that has shown the potential to triple potato yields. 

Our partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Service is protecting and restoring the Mau Forest, one of Bomet’s most precious natural resources.

There are many other important things we do together, but let’s talk about today.

USAID, through our Financial Inclusion for Rural Microenterprises Program, worked with Bomet to develop this plan and we share your excitement about the enormous possibilities that it will offer.

Our work with Bomet to create this strategic investment plan underscores a broader commitment to support devolution and work with counties to become new centers of economic growth.

Devolution is bringing development closer to the people by investing in local institutions - like Tenwek, Siongiroi dairy, and the Kenya Wildlife Service.

As I look around the room, I am encouraged to see incredible expertise from all of these facets of the local and global community.   I am a firm believer in the power of partnerships – between the Government of Kenya, the public and private sectors, community organizations, academia and individual citizens - to help achieve development goals.

Before I conclude, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous leadership of Governor Ruto.

The plan that you present today is the engine that will power your counties development. It is a clear, actionable plan that will help you make good on the promises you have made to your constituents.

But a plan is only as good as the energy behind it.

As you move forward with your discussions over the next three days you will find ways to stimulate investment, innovation, and entrepreneurialism.

We look forward to your continued leadership in coordinating this diverse set of partners around the investment plan.

I wish you and the people of Bomet the greatest success.

Thank-you