Tana River Governor Maj (Rtd) Dhadho Godhana has been elected as Chairman of the Jumuiya Ya Kaunti Za Pwani (JKP) succeeding Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro.
Governor Godhana becomes the 4th chairman of the regional economic block which was formally initiated in 2014 with a secretariat located in Mombasa.
Godhana also serves as the chairman of the Security and Foreign Affairs in the Council of Governors (CoG).
The bloc comprised of the coastal counties of Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu, Taita Taveta and Tana River aims to promote growth through shared resources and economic planning.
“Unity amongst the six coastal governors must be sustained,” he said after he was unanimously elected by his peers Abdulswmad Nassir (Mombasa), Fatuma Achani (Kwale), Gideon Mung’aro (Kilifi), Issa Timamy (Lamu) and Andrew Mwadime (Taita Taveta).
The governors reiterated their commitment under JKP to advance the regional economic cooperation through innovation and partnership with development partners, private sector and the public.
Godhana says he takes over the leadership of the coastal regional economic block to focus on wealth creation, job opportunities and blue economy projects to boost the region’s economic significance.
He said he will push for collaborative efforts amongst coastal counties regarding agriculture, tourism and infrastructure.
“Under my leadership the JKP will focus on high-impact socio-economic projects, sustainable growth and the blue economy,” he said.
The county boss said is keen on leveraging collaborations to drive progress in the coastal region.
“We are going to chart a common developmental agenda and a shared path to sustainable prosperity for our region,” he said.
He said under his stewardship the block will continue driving socio-economic development across the six coastal counties.
Kilifi Governor and outgoing chairman Gideon Mung’aro said JKP through the Go Blue Project aims to advance economic growth in the blue economy sector by addressing socio-economic issues like gender exclusion, poverty and marginalization in the region.
He said the Go Blue Project has so far trained 2000 women and youth and delivered 26 modern fishing boats to fisher folks.
In a statement the JKP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Emmanuel Nzai said the economic block would rollout further programmes where citizens will be engaged more in various activities.
Dr. Nzai noted that JKP seeks to catalyze economic growth, coordination of regional socio-economic cooperation, policy harmonization and promotion of assets for tourism and investments.
By Hussein Abdullahi
