We reach the end of another year and what a year it has been! Unprecedented is the word frequently used and certainly the D&S Group has been impacted, though I am pleased to report that our performance has been satisfactory in the circumstances and though like all organisations we have experienced some Covid cases they have been well managed and we've had no serious outcomes. There has also been good qualitative progress with various structural improvements made and I

particularly mentioned our ERP 2020 project that went live on December 1st. This is a major investment in both systems and infrastructure that will take the D&S Group to the next digital level and though there have been some predictable challenges I highly commend and appreciate the ICT team under CFO George Mbugua and led by Joab MakOngul and Desmond Rao who have worked tirelessly to execute the project.

The other major investment has been in the seminal Tatu warehouse project that will enable us to centralise and greatly improve management of the large stocks we now hold. Tatu is a world class resource that is unique in the region and will bring our range of products more efficiently to our customers and lift availability to another level. The project has been guided by the supply team under Supply Director Anthony Wangondu with Henry Davis, Maina Mbatia and Evelyn Wainaina making particular contributions. I'm very grateful to them all.

Another area of success this year has been our CSR programme that we now call 'Improving Lives'. This is a well-established initiative though this year we increased resources to it and managed by Director Edward Davis and ably assisted by coordinator Nur Riday activities have increased hugely. The focus is on providing water supplies to disadvantaged communities and we've completed 140 projects throughout the region benefiting over 485,000 people. We are proud of the contribution that we are making to our communities.

Due to Covid regretfully our usual Christmas activities were curtailed with no parties or special events. However, we have continued the tradition of Business Unit Awards and I congratulate the IT Department for being selected as the winner and Industrial Area Service under Industrial Area GM David Bolo, managed by Charles Kebaso as Commended, both having performed well and also taken many excellent new initiatives, especially in the digital space. We have also made Business Unit Employee of the Year Awards, which are selected by staff and are given elsewhere. Congratulations to all the winners. Another milestone we have not been able to appropriately mark is the retirements of Penny Mwangi, my former PA and Aggrey Temoi, long serving Manager of D&S Malindi. Both had exemplary careers with D&S and we wish them every success in the future.

To conclude, I offer everyone my warmest Season's Greetings and take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to all D&S stakeholders including customers, suppliers and of course staff for your great support over the past year as without you we would not have been able to navigate the turbulence as well as we have. I also pass everyone my very best wishes for a healthy, successful and hopefully much better 2021!