Following on the heels of 2030 Water Resources Group’s host transition from the International Finance Corporation to the World Bank Group Water Global Practice this year, the Kenya 2030 WRG Governing Board welcomed Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Simon Chelugui, as its new Ministerial Co-Chair.

Hon. Chelugui—who is replacing the former Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Eugene Wamalwa—joins Mr. Vimal Shah, Chair BIDCO Africa, in providing leadership to the Board. During the Board’s first bi-annual meeting on April 11, 2018 in Nairobi, Hon. Simon Chelugui initiated his new appointment by emphasizing the critical role of champions in developing sustainable solutions to the country’s water challenges. According to him, the severity of Kenya’s water scarcity makes the role of champions that much more important.

The Kenya 2030 WRG Governing Board also welcomed Mrs. Helene Carlsson Rex as a new member during the meeting. Mrs. Rex—who represents the Kenya Country Management Unit (CMU)—echoed Hon. Simon Chelugui’s sentiments, and spoke about the value of convening key decision makers from both the private and public sectors alongside civil society. Mrs. Rex also shared about the World Bank Group’s strategy to maximize finance for development, which calls for the crowding in of the private sector to address challenges that neither the public sector or the development community can solve on their own.

During this event, the Board endorsed a working group to address coordination among the increasing number of multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) in Kenya. Eng. Mike Thomas, 2030 WRG Consultant, presented the preliminary results of a study commissioned to explore the value of MSPs in water resource management and their experience so far, and provided a few preliminary recommendations.

The report identified four potential areas of intervention: (i) linkages between Basin Water Resources Committees and MSPs; (ii) development of sustainable financing models, including targeted initiatives by the Government of Kenya; (iii) policy & legislative recognition; and (iv) pathways to multi-stakeholder partnership registration.

Initial participants in the working group include: (i) Directorate of Water Resources Management at the Ministry of Water; (ii) Kenya Water Towers; (iii) Water Resources Authority; (iv) Water Sector Trust Fund; (v) the National Irrigation Board; (vi) Kenya Water Partnership; and (vii) the Mount Kenya-Ewaso Water Partnership.