- Kakamega was gazetted as the Western region headquarters in 1920 and it hosts the county headquarters.
- The new boundaries expand the municipality size from 49 square kilometres to 123km2.
The Kakamega government has begun upgrading Kakamega town as part of efforts to prepare it for city status.
The town was gazetted as the Western region headquarters in 1920. It hosts the county headquarters. On December 19, Governor Wycliffe Oparanya inaugurated the Kakamega Municipality Board that is charged with the management of the municipal affairs on a semi-autonomous basis and launched the Kakamega town municipal charter.
The charter took into account the expanded boundaries that now encompass satellite townships of Khayega towards Kisumu, Lubao towards Webuye, Eshisiru towards Mumias and Shinyalu.
The new boundaries are contained in a 10-year spatial plan. They expand the town from 49 square kilometres to 123km2. The changes mean freehold title holders within the new area will now remit land rates to the county.
Development of the spatial plans was funded by the World Bank, which has also given Sh400 million for infrastructure development.
Kakamega municipality was established in the early 1970s with infrastructure to sustain about 500 households but an increase in population has necessitated the expansion to better services.
The expanded boundaries have further increased the population to enable the town to meet the population threshold needed for a city. It will, however, come with heavy responsibly on the government to improve essential services.
Oparanya envisages that the town would have attained city status by the end this year when the town holds its centenary celebrations as the region's headquarters.
“Key development like the upcoming teaching and referral hospital will trigger health tourism and, coupled with the over 5,000 people it will employ, boosts the town economy,” Oparanya said.
The law required a city to have a minimum population of 250,000 and Oparanya hopes the 2019 population and housing census results will help him get the required numbers within expanded boundaries.
The municipal charter sets out the powers and functions of the municipality which include but not limited to promotion, regulation and provision of solid waste management services, water and sanitation services and infrastructure (in areas within the municipality not served by the Water and Sanitation Provider).
The municipality will also be charged with construction and maintenance of urban roads and associated infrastructure, drainage and flood controls, street lighting and traffic controls and parking facilities, among other functions.
County Lands, Housing, Urban Areas and Physical Planning executive Alfred Matianyi says the spatial plans went through public participation and were approved by the cabinet and the county assembly and are at the implementation stage.
“The plans will stimulate mapping of the town into middle-level, low-level and high-end residential area categories based on their income and provision of social amenities required by law and regulations,” he said.
The county government last week began demolishing stalls in the CBD and owners of building erected on public and have also been warned they would go down. Oparanya, leading the operation personally, said the structures are eyesores.
The stalls sold household goods, electronics and phone accessories. Some near the referral hospital sold coffins. Oparanya wants the coffins business moved to Sichirayi.
The town still faces challenges of sanitation and the expansion could worsen the situation. It does not have a fully functional sewerage system and raw sewer still drains into rivers and streams, posing a serious health risk.
The Sh63 million sewerage project on Maraba estate that was funded by the German government and one which would have addressed the current sanitation issues was blocked in court by the community over lack of public participation.
According to the Urban Areas and Cities Act, an urban area may be classified as a city if it has infrastructural facilities, including roads, street lighting, markets and fire stations, and adequate capacity for disaster management and functional and effective waste disposal.
The Act also requires that urban areas have an integrated urban area or city development plan, demonstrable good system and records of prudent management and the capacity to effectively and efficiently deliver services to become a city.
Section 5(2) of the Act, however, says the requirements do not prevent an area from being conferred with the status of a special-purpose city under this Act if it has significant cultural, economic or political importance.