- County assembly shall remain in Wundanyi town
- Sh48 million facelift projects funded by World Bank
Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja and his cabinet have finally relocated to new offices in Mwatate town.
The town shall serve as county headquarters after years of disagreement on relocation.
Mwatate - a place considered a central point in the county - had been gazetted to host the county headquarters but they were moved to Wundanyi since inception of the devolved unit for lack of land and infrastructure.
However, the county assembly shall remain in Wundanyi town.
Former Governor John Mruttu had in 2014 launched the construction of county headquarters at Mgheno area in Mwatate subcounty but the construction stalled after a section of county leaders openly opposed the project.
Speaking during the opening of the new governor’s office, Mwatate municpality chairman Martin Maseghe said the relocation shall boost business in the fast growing town.
“Many government workers are now moving to Mwatate. This will unlock the business potential of Mwatate town. Already with the new municipal status, people are flocking to buy plots with the intention of putting up business and residential houses,” Mwaiseghe said.
A facelift of the town is near completion and many investors have expressed interest doing business in the town.
The Sh48 million facelift projects are funded by World Bank through Urban Support Programe.
The projects entail rehabilitation of Mwatate administration offices access road, construction of an eight-door modern toilet and garbage receptacles.
Other facilities include construction of a parking, walkways and installation of street lights.
Taita Taveta Kenya Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Andrew Mwamburi asked the government to set favourable business conditions that would attract more investors.
He acknowledges that the new county headquarters would play a key role in the growth of the nearly neglected town thus turning it into the county’s business hub.
“There is a lot of untapped business potential here that runs from agribusiness to mining and value addition. The government should steadily support the business community because they are the key players in economic growth,” he said.