• Urban Areas and Cities Act, a town can be elevated to a municipality if it has a population of at least 50,000 residents.
• Gilgil has 185,209 people while Molo has a population of 156,732 people as per the 2019 Kenya Population Census.
The County Government of Nakuru is considering the upgrade of Gilgil and Molo towns to municipalities.
In a statement on Wednesday, Governor Lee Kinyanjui said the county cabinet held a meeting on Tuesday to deliberate on the matter.
During the meeting, a report by the Department of Lands, Housing, and Physical Planning on the elevation of the two towns to Municipality status was adopted.
“This is a step towards making our towns safe, beautiful, and competitive for investment as they will be classified and have legal status for urban management, policies, and systems,” Governor Kinyanjui said.
He said that under the Urban Areas and Cities Act, a town can be elevated to a municipality if it has a population of at least 50,000 residents.
The governor said both the two towns have met the requirements since Gilgil has 185,209 people while Molo has a population of 156,732 people as per the 2019 Kenya Population Census.
“Upon elevation, Gilgil and Molo will become the third and fourth town to be Municipalities after Nakuru, and Naivasha. Nakuru Municipality will soon be awarded a charter for city status.”
Kinyanjui added that he will soon appoint an Adhoc Committee which will evaluate if the two towns meet the criteria set in law for conferment of Municipality status.
“If the Adhoc Committee finds that the municipal status requirements have been met, we will transmit the report to the County Assembly for its consideration.”
The governor added that if the county assembly will approve the report, he will award the Municipal charters to the two towns.
In May this year, the Senate Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations Committee recommended the house approve a request by the county government to promote the fast-growing town to a city.
Approval means the whole house will debate the report next week before voting whether the county will be elevated.
If it passes, it will be handed over to President Uhuru Kenyatta for approval, paving the way for Nakuru to become a city in line with the provisions of the Urban Areas and Cities Act.
The other cities are Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu.