The municipal boards of 11 major towns in North Rift and Western Kenya have resolved to merge their strategic plans in order to have joint programmes and investments.
Most of the 11 towns under the plan are the headquarters of the 11 counties in the two regions.
Chairmen and managers of the towns met in Eldoret and established the North Rift and Western Kenya Municipalities Caucus, which will coordinate the joint plans.
The towns are Eldoret, Kapsabet, Iten, Kitale, Kapenguria, Lodwar, Kakamega, Bungoma, Vihiga, Kimilili and Busia.
Uasin Gishu deputy governor Daniel Chemno who addressed a meeting of the chairmen and managers asked them to move quickly and harmonise their strategic plans and policies to drive development activities.
“Investors prefer to target regions as opposed to individual counties so that they capture sizable populations and maximise use of resources on development,” Chemno said.
He said the municipalities in the region share some key resources and infrastructure. They share resources like water and roads in the region.
“That is why we should have a unified approach, harmonised policies and strategic plans so that the rules governing business and development are the same across the board. When we do that, investors will closely work with us to strategically locate investments for the benefit of all our counties,” Chemno said.
He said the towns in the region will work closely to attract investors and create jobs and business opportunities for the increasing population of residents.
Speaking at the function, Eldoret municipality chairman Julius Kitur said counties and municipalities in the two regions share the same water sources, airport and road network hence the need for a unified approach to service delivery.
“We want to lay the foundations for short and long-term plans to serve this region as one. As our towns and municipalities grow it would be nice if in future we established a centralised system and infrastructure for waste collection and recycling and sewer treatment,” he said.
“We all drink water from the same water towers, so we should also have one plan which ensures all counties in Western Kenya and North Rift share equal responsibilities and benefit from such resources,” Kitur said.
Eldoret town manager Tito Koiyet said municipalities exist to implement urban planning and development agenda for county governments.
He thanked Governor Jackson Mandago for establishing a multi-agency forum whose function is to improve services and infrastructure within Eldoret as a requirement for achievement of city status.
Edited by Henry Makori
