REPUBLIC OF KENYA

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

VIHIGA COUNTY

ANNUAL REPORT BY VIHIGA GOVERNOR

H. E. REV MOSES AKARANGA TO THE

COUNTY ASSEMBLY ON FEBRUARY 17TH

2014

MR. SPEAKER

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Honorable Members of the County Assembly,

Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning,

Pursuant to the elections held in March 2013, when I was elected the

Governor of Vihiga County I was sworn in on 27th March and I assumed the

functions of my office as the Governor under section 30 of the County

Government Act immediately. Considering that the County comprises of two

arms namely the County executive and the County Assembly, I would not as

Governor have assumed the full functions of the County Government without

an operational County Government in place. You recall as honorable

members of the County Assembly, the County Assembly would not be

operational without the Speaker. So some reasonable amount of time was

spent by the transitional authorities in putting place mechanisms for the

operationlization of the County Assembly. I had the honor of attending both

the election and swearing in of the Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: You recall that even after your election, this being a natural

process of devolution, you had to spent some time consulting and learning

the functions of devolution at a time when there was no standing orders that

would guide this house in conducting its business. It is in the knowledge of

everyone that valuable amount of time was also spent by the County

assembly in gaining ground to effectively discharge its statutory functions.

MR. SPEAKER: As the Governor, I shall say that immediately I was sure that

the two arms of the County Government were in place, it became my duty to

embark on the programs of the County Government. At this juncture, I now

wish to bring to your attention, the following information which constitutes

my report for the period under review.

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Mr. SPEAKER: In recognition of the importance of the County Assembly as

the Arm of the County Government, I want to address myself first to the role

of the County Assembly with regard to the discharge of the County

Government for the period under review. On the positive side having

previously congratulated each one of you firstly for your election to your

respective positions, and having expressed my confidence in your ability to

discharge your respective duties in this Assembly I wish to state that during

the period the Assembly has been very resourceful in the following areas;

The names of the nominees for the County Executive Committee and

the County Public Service Board were forwarded to this assembly and

approved without any misunderstanding as has been evident

elsewhere in the Country. That was the first score on the part of the

assembly towards effective discharge of the functions of devolution.

Recently, with your cooperation, dedicated desire for implementation

of the functions of devolution and the good leadership of the Speaker,

you approved the names of the Chief Officers which process was long

overdue considering that these are the Accounting Officers and

engines of any government in the implementation of its programmes.

This House also approved the Budget for the Financial Year 2013/14

In appreciation of the legislative role of the County Assembly, I wish to

inform the Assembly a total of three Bills were passed by this assembly

namely The Appropriation Bill, The County Assembly Service Bill and

The Finance Bill. However, the following Bills are ready and will be

forwarded to this Assembly shortly; Education Fund Bill, Natural

Resources Exploitation and Community Empowerment Bill,

Environment Bill, Water Bill, Ward Development Bill, Feeding Program

Bill, Vihiga County Symbols Bill and Vihiga County Community

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Empowerment Bill. In addition, the Vihiga County Government

(Devolved Units) Administration Bill, 2014 and Vihiga Liquor and

Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill are ready for the public participation.

MR. SPEAKER: I now wish to address the house on what I as the Governor

and the County Executive have achieved so far. To enable the County

Assembly function effectively and efficiently we acquired and supplied each

Member of this House with a Lap Top which I trust has greatly improved your

digital operations. On the County Assembly Infrastructure, my Government

has provided funds for the refurbishment of the County Assembly which is

ongoing. In order to streamline the operations of the County between the

two arms the assembly enjoys a separate imprest account to manage their

operations.

MR. SPEAKER: With regard to the discharge of other functions devolved to

the County I wish to inform the assembly of the following;

7: Transport and Infrastructure

Over the period under review, the Department of Transport and

Infrastructure graveled and graded a total of 75 Km of our roads at a cost of

Ksh.148, 576,044.79 while 9 Bridges and Box Culverts cost a total of Ksh.

49,091,278.27. These works were spread across all the Sub-Counties as

shown on the detailed Annex 1.

When I took over as the Governor, most street lights in the major towns in

the County were not functional. So far the lights have been restored in our

satellite towns as shown on Annex 2.

I am pleased to advice that the construction of the County Headquarters is

almost complete and the occupation is likely to be in April this year. So far

my Government has spent Kshs.40million.

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Mr. Speaker; The County Government has purchased five vehicles as

detailed in Annex 3. We are in the process of purchasing two more vehicles,

Water Bowser, Dozer, Roller, Excavator and Shovel for the county

Government use during this financial year. We have included this in the

Supplementary Budget for your approval.

Department of Trade, Industrialization and Tourism: As you may be

aware, our people have the natural fear of taking commercial loans because

of the high interest rates and other related bank charges. Therefore I am

proposing to introduce a bill to this house which will address some of these

fears. This bill will enable the County Government to give soft loans to

Women (mama mboga), Youth, persons living with disabilities and the Boda

boda operators.

MR. SPEAKER: For promotion of Local Tourism my government hosted two

activities; Miss tourism Vihiga and The Festival on the Maragoli Hills. The

Miss Tourism Kenya (Vihiga Edition) saw Miss Hanifa Tale represent our

County at the Miss Tourism National finals competitions held in Mombasa on

20th December, 2013. She emerged 5th overall and was awarded The Global

Peace Ambassador Award-Kenya. As a result of this event, we expect to see

increased flow of tourists into the County which will boost our economy.

Towards that end, my Government has identified Maragoli Hills, The Tiriki

Shrines, Mungoma Caves, The Cultural activities of the Terik, the Rain

Makers of Bunyore, Kaimosi Forest amongst others for promotion as tourist

attraction sites as we prepare to host Miss Tourism Kenya Event for 2014. My

Office is working very closely with the Miss Tourism Kenya Committee to

effect this event.

MR SPEAKER: Maragoli Hills Festival held on the eve of 2014 was a success

event in terms of tourism attraction. The few Members of this Assembly who

accompanied us to the hills may testify to this report. Proposals have

started flocking in with the interest of putting up a five star Hotel. If these

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investments come in, the lives of the people who live around these Hills will

greatly change.

MR. SPEAKER: With regard to the incomplete markets, there were no

budgetary provisions in the period under review as these projects fall under

the Economic Stimulus Program. However, because of the urgent need to

complete the markets my Government is considering including some

allocation in the supplementary budget as some of them (markets) are

posing security risk to our people. I am happy to mention that my

Government has opened Mwibona Livestock Market and it is now operational.

MR. SPEAKER: In the area of Education, the first priority of my Government

was to address the issue of ECD Teachers, Financial assistance for promotion

of education in the County and School feeding program to alleviate the

suffering of our children. For the ECD Teachers the requisite legislation is

being prepared to implement the recruitment of the Teachers. As a means of

improving the standard and quality of our education, My County Government

had planned to construct 35 ECD Class rooms across the County. Currently

we have identified 14 ECD classrooms and the process of identification,

facilitation and implementation for the other 21 ECD classrooms is ongoing.

For School feeding program the legal framework for the implementation of

the program is ready and will be rolled out for the public participation shortly

after which it will be forwarded to this assembly for the necessary approval.

Once passed, the Education Fund Bill will see The Bursary Fund managed at

the Ward Level. I also encourage the members of the County Assembly to

actively participate in the selection of the deserving students in their

respective wards. Financial assistance for promotion of education in the

County, a sectional paper has been prepared and once approved by this

house implementation will follow immediately since funds had been allocated

for this earlier.

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MR. SPEAKER: Although University Education is not a devolved function,

the County Government has taken necessary steps towards the

establishment of a University at Kaimosi which will be operational beginning

September 2014 despite the challenges from many quarters.

With regard to Village Polytechnics, my Government financed the acquisition

of examination equipment for 700 youth polytechnic trainees. My

Government has put mechanisms in place to identify appropriate partners to

improve the status of our Village Polytechnics.

MR. SPEAKER

Although not a function of my government, we had well wishers who came in

handy to help our needy children. The John Madete Foundation awarded 9

scholarships to some of our children who got admission to National Schools.

The Foundation distributed the scholarships as follows; Emuhay-1, Lunda-1,

Vihiga-4, Hamisi-2 and Sabatia-1. Cooperative Bank of Kenya gave

Scholarship to 5 Class eight pupils who joined National Schools. Let me take

this opportunity to congratulate our Primary Schools teachers for giving us

good performance in the last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education

(KCPE) results. Our County emerged position 13th out of the 47 Counties with

a County Mean Score of 262. My County Government will work closely with

our Primary School Administration to help them improve further their

performance.

MR. SPEAKER: In developing the ICT Strategy for Economic Growth, the

County government recognizes the broad challenges involved in living in an

information age and knowledge economy, and in harnessing the potential of

ICTs for economic growth and poverty reduction. Faced with these realities,

the County Government has put in place a strategy based on four Guiding

Principles, namely: Infrastructure Development, Human Resource

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Development, Stakeholder Participation and Appropriate Policy and

Regulatory Framework. In the area of Home care centers, Home craft

Centers and other centers for the care of children with special needs, my

Government is working on the necessary legislation which are required for

these functions to be fully implemented.

In order to improve Academic Standards and Examination results in the

County, the County Government has held Consultative Meetings with

Principles of Secondary Schools, KEPPET, KNUT and other stakeholders. My

Government has agreed to sponsor KCPE Mock.

3: Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives

I committed my County Government to address the perennial food shortage

in Vihiga County.

In the area of Agriculture My Government encountered a setback when the

relevant County Executive Committee member got involved in a Road

Accident resulting in his hospitalization. Despite this, the department made

achievements; two exhibitions aimed at improving farmers’ skills were

carried out, one at Kidundu and the other at the Municipal Grounds. The

department redeployment 35 extension officers into the 25 wards to provide

technical support, among other things.

My Government has put in measures to complete the stalled Luanda Abattoir

at a cost of Ksh. 29,490,000 and is expected to be completed by May, 2014.

MR. SPEAKER: We have also procured 50,000 Tissue Culture Banana

Plantlets to promote Banana Farming in County. Mechanisms to ensure that

the project is spread across the entire County are being worked on by the

technical team. Honorable members, we need to lead by example in the

Tissue Culture husbandry. In this regard, I want to encourage you to

participate in this program by planting the tissue culture bananas.

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MR. SPEAKER

Mudete Tea Factory being the only Industrial unit in the county is currently

operating below 40% capacity. Despite this, farmers earned over Ksh. 800

Million last year. To increase the capacity my Government has instructed the

department of Agriculture to make arrangements and reach out to farmers in

the County with a view of increasing the number of tea bushes. Honorable

members my Government is aware of the challenges in the tea industry,

especially when it comes to late collection of the farmers’ tea leaves at the

buying centers. My Government is going to take an active role to ensure

that farmers are not disadvantaged in any way.

MR. SPEAKER: In the area of Livestock Production, my Government is

progressively implementing the Dairy Goats, Rabbit, Piggery and Fish

Farming projects as budgeted for. An adequate report will be made when the

projects are commissioned.

MR. SPEAKER: My Government submitted a proposal to the Bill and Melda

Gates Foundation for the promotion of Horticultural activities in the County

and I am pleased to inform the House that the proposal was accepted and

funding of the same will be done at a cost of US $ 120 Million.

Honorable Members, you are aware that this is a planting season and

farmers are anxious about farm inputs. In order to address this I propose to

set aside Ks 20 Million under the supplementary budget to subsidize these

farm inputs on the part of the farmers.

MR. SPEAKER: Ministry of Health: I can happily report that my

Government opened the first Kenya Medical Training College at the Mbale

Provincial Rural Health Training Centre in the County. The College admitted

the first group of 50 students in October 2013 with the second admission

scheduled for March 2014. Mr. Speaker, 50% of the pioneer students were

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sons and daughters of this County and we have been assured that this

county will always benefit by the same percentage for all future intakes.

MR. SPEAKER: The Health Department conducted successful programs

such as; the polio campaigns, Malezi Bora campaign, The Jigger Campaign

and House Hold Water Treatment Promotion and Open Defecation Free

Zones (ODF) Program across the County.

MR. SPEAKER

To ensure that we have reliable drug provisions in all our health facilities, the

department has procured adequate medicines which will be supplied to all

health institutions. Similarly, the Department has procured three

Ambulances for the County.

MR. SPEAKER: It is important to note that during the strike, the County

Health Sector was severely affected. However, My Government swiftly

moved to contain the situation through consultations with the affected health

workers and the situation was brought to normalcy. I thank the Speaker and

all Honorable Members who joined me in engaging the health workers in

different capacities to ensure that patients were attended to during the

period of the strike.

Mr. Speaker, Let me now turn to the Department of Environment,

Water and Natural Resources:

Environment: The department conducted a Clean-up exercise of all the

major urban centers in the County and I thank the Members of the Country

Assembly who participated in this exercise. Honorable Speaker during the

Governors’ council the President of Rwanda, H.E. Paul Kagame in his Key

note Speech posed a question whether it was really necessary to invite

investors to come in and help us clean up our towns. He advised that in

Rwanda, they have a law that requires all citizens to participate in a cleanup

exercise once per month. In this regard, my Government proposes to bring a

similar legislation for Vihiga County to take care of our environment.

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Mr. Speaker, to head start this process we have commenced the

construction of Eco-Toilets in the major Urban Centers in the County.

Forestry: I wish to inform the house that my Government was involved in

the rehabilitation of Emabungo Hills by planting 8,000 indigenous trees.

Whilst we encourage our people to plant indigenous trees we are

experiencing challenges with the management of forests that have been

under the care of the Kenya Forest Services. For example Kibiri Forest where

destruction took place and my effort to curb the destruction was met with

resistance since the Kenya Forest Reserve was not devolved. I am still

consulting on the best way to protect our forests.

Water: My Government has taken corrective measures to rehabilitate the

following Water Schemes; Sosian, Bumbo/Shamakhokho, Mbale Water

Scheme, Mang’ong’o, Mbihi, Chango, Esirulo Water Project, Luanda Town up

to Mwivona , Mabungo Phase II and Chebsaga. At this juncture I wish to

observe that several water supply lines were damaged by the contractor who

is working on the Kisumu-Kakamega Road resulting in water disconnection to

several places including Chavakali Market. Through the relevant department,

my Government has approached the Road contactor to restore the damaged

water lines.

My Government has had to pay heavy electricity Bills which were inherited

from the Amatsi Water Company which was the agency involved with water

and sanitation in the County.

MR. SPEAKER: Department of Land, Housing and Urban Planning

So far this department has conducted training on Strategic Planning, a

Visioning Workshop for the County Spatial Integrated Development Plan and

the Integrated Strategic Urban Development Plan.

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MR. SPEAKER: The County Integrated Development Plan was submitted to

this house on 3oth September 2013 for your consideration and necessary

action and we are still awaiting for your approval. Having said this, I would

like to digress and mention something on land.

MR. SPEAKER: There is scarcity of land for development in the county; this

has necessitated my Government to source for land for development. In this

regard, we have identified some parcels of land that we intend to purchase

this financial year. Housing is also a major issue in the County and therefore

we are in the process of taking over the Houses that belong to the devolved

Government to enhance revenue collection.

MR. SPEAKER: Department of Gender, Youth, Culture and Sports

Culture: The department held the County Music and Cultural Festival, Choir

Masters Workshop, Traditional Dancers Exhibition, the National Music and

Cultural Festival, Maragoli Cultural Festival and Exhibition and the Tiriki

Cultural Festival and Exhibition.

Sports and Youth: In the area of Sports, my Government has agreed to

sponsor Vihiga United Football Club which is currently playing in FKF division

one league and it is under Mr. Edward Manoa as its head coach.

My Government sponsored cross country competition and the top five

winners represented us at the National Championship in Nairobi.

Other sports activities that my Government successively sponsored include;

Volleyball, Cricket, Netball, Soccer for women, etc

In order to encourage Children participation in governance and legislative

process, my Government organized a forum for the Children at Bishop Stam

where the Assembly of Children took part in the election of their shadow

Governor and Speaker.

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MR. SPEAKER: With respect to the marginalized groups, my Government

has put measures in place to address their interests. During the period under

review I hosted a conference of persons living with disabilities at the County

Headquarters. The conference was meant to collect views on best ways to

address their issues. My Government sponsored Naomi Esiaba to attend an

international conference and from this attendance, the County will benefit

from the construction of two eco toilets.

Department of Public Service and Administration

MR: SPEAKER: You are aware that one of the first functions I performed

upon assuming office was to appoint both members of the executive and the

County Public Service Board. I can mention that the Board has already

recruited 10 Chief Officers whose names I forwarded to this house for vetting

as required by the law. Other officers recruited by this board were 5 Sub

County Administrators and their Deputies, 25 Ward Administrators and two

Directors; one in Human Resource and another one for Information

Communication Technology (ICT) who are currently undergoing induction in

readiness to assume office. We are proud that we are among the first County

Government to appoint Administrators up to the Ward level.

In order to complete the structure of Administration of the devolved units

leading to the appointment of Village Administrators, Village Elders, My

Government has finalized the Bill on Devolved units as earlier mentioned in

this report which will soon come to this assembly for enactment into law.

My Government is aware of the confusion in licensing of Alcoholic Drinks by

reason of lack of appropriate Legislation. In line with what I had already

mentioned, the Liquor and Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill is ready for public

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participation in the next two weeks. However there is no vacuum as the

National Legislation is still in place.

MR. SPEAKER: As you are aware the issue of security is paramount and a

concern for everyone. Despite isolated cases of reported criminal incidences,

we have not encountered major security risks during the period under

review. Our Security agencies in the county have been able to contain the

situation and have regularly briefed me. To beef up security in the County,

My Government has procured 100 metal Detectors to be used by security

personnel in their operations. The Ministry is also liaising with the National

Government to implement and supervise the Nyumba-Kumi initiative as a

measure of Community Policing.

MR. SPEAKER: I would like to mention that my Government jointly with the

County Public Service Board undertook various Training Programs to build

the Capacity of the Executive and the County Assembly personnel. Some of

the training programs included the training of County Executive and the

Board in Eldoret, Nakuru and Kisumu and the County Integrated

Development Plan Training held in Eldoret, Team Building Training that

jointly brought together the County Executive and the Assembly in Nakuru.

Mr. Speaker, dissemination of information to our people is vital as it will

enable them understand the operations of both the County Government and

the Assembly. In this regard my administration has come up with the County

News Paper namely Vihiga Star which is a weekly publication. The price of

this paper is only Kshs.40/. We also have a website-www.vihiga-

government.com and Face book page; Vihiga county government.

MR. SPEAKER: Finance and Planning

Finance and Economic Planning plays a key role in mobilizing, allocating and

facilitating various departments to implement their respective programs. In

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this regard, my Government has put in place the following committees; The

Budget Committee, County Integrated Development Steering Committee, the

Procurement Committee and the Finance Management Committee. The

Department concerned spearheaded the preparation of the County

Integrated Development Plan (CIDP).

However, the department of Finance has encountered major challenges

occasioned by the late release of funds by the National Treasury. The poor

connectivity at the County Headquarters compels our officers to work from

Kisumu to access funds in our account at the Central Bank of Kenya for

purposes of processing transaction including payments. All these challenges

relate to the Integrated Finance Management System (IFMIS) and the G-Pay

System. The implementation of the IPPD System where our salaries have to

be processed through a common payroll causes another challenge.

To address these, my Government has worked very closely with the National

Government to train County Government Officers on IFMIS and G-Pay to

enable them respond effectively to these challenges.

MR. SPEAKER

11: Foreign Business Trips to America and Germany

In an effort to address domestic challenges and accompanying significant

weaknesses in infrastructural capacity and inadequate levels of investments,

I made two foreign trips.

In the United States of America trip between 22nd of Agust-3rd of

September, 2013

i. The World International Medical Relief have donated Modern Medical

Equipments which will be arriving in the County at any moment.

ii. We established contact with the United States Trade Development

Agency (USTDA). The Agency is exploring solutions for the Kaimosi Mini

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Hydro and Water Project with a view to generating Hydro Electric

Power and water Supply.

iii. African Trade and Expo Link Officials and other Potential investors are

working closely with the “Friends of Vihiga” in America to explore

possibilities of working with our Vihiga County.

iv. The Friends of Vihiga in America are making follow ups on various

possibilities such as the establishment of a County Civic Centre,

Promotion of the “Adopt a School” Program.

v. The City of Claremont’s Mayor, Mr. Opanyi K. Nasiali who is a Vihiga

County resident promised to “Adopt a School” of his choice at an

opportune time.

I am happy to inform you that The American Friends of Vihiga were in the

County recently to make a follow up on Sports Promotion in the County.

Through Friends of Vihiga, we are self-assured to secure the Rights to host

Amateur Boxing Bout in September this year. We have also allocated them

land on which they plan to set up a tennis court and are ready to construct a

cricket and football stadium if land is availed to them.

Germany Trip

i. The Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce is working on a program aimed at

assisting Vihiga County to develop its training programs for Vocational

institutions in various disciplines; Masonry, Mechanical Engineering,

Carpentry, ICT, Plumbing, Building and Construction and Electrical

Engineering. The Chief executive of the Chamber will be coming to

Vihiga County in early March this year to discuss in detail how this will

be implemented.

ii. Vihiga County has been granted 12 scholarships for students with a

strong inclination in Engineering at the Wildau University in Germany.

We have identified the students to benefit from this program. They

come across the entire county.

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iii. Wildau University also agreed to enter into a partnership with Kaimosi

Friends University to institute Engineering Programs towards an

orientation that will tailor the Institution’s curriculum to provide

Practical skills as a departure from theory to practice. In this

connection, the President of Wildau University President will also be

arriving in the County in March, 2014 to finalize our mutual agreement

on this.

iv. On 1st of February, 2014 the German Chamber of Commerce officials

visited the County to make a follow up of their earlier visit. The

delegation consisted of Chairperson of the Tourism Business

Administration Committee, Head of the Investment Bankers Committee

and the Chamber of Commerce Board Member of Berlin. They will be

making a report on specific areas of investment based on their

assessment of the County.

Mr. Speaker, let me touch something on Ward Visits; As part of my

responsibilities, I have visited almost all the Wards with the aim of assessing

the status of development project on the ground and listening to the voices

of the Vihiga people. This has helped me understand the needs of our people

better for the best service delivery as enshrined in the constitution.

Other Issues; MR. SPEAKER: During the period under review, I

successfully negotiated with the judiciary for the construction of a high court.

Due to scarcity of land at the County Headquarters, we have had to look for

land in Hamisi Sub County where Land is still available for the Construction

of the High Court. The Construction will commence any time as soon as the

funds are released by the Judiciary.

MR. SPEAKER: In Conclusion, I feel it is imperative to point to this assembly

that the implementation of devolution has had its share of challenges.

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Our County Roads have been extensively encroached by neighboring land

owners who are not willing to accommodate expansion thereby hindering

expansion and improvement. As my Government faces the challenges of

devolution, I will always turn to the County Assembly for support and

cooperation in accordance with our constitution and the other laws

governing devolution. Let me not lose sight of the support you have given

me during the period under review and I urge the Assembly members to

maintain the same spirit of cooperation.

Thank you Mr. Speaker

Thank you the honorable members of this Assembly

MAY GOD BLESS YOU.

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