Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii has won an award for his work in Eldoret town ahead of its elevation to city status.
Bii,popular as Koti Moja, was awarded by the Town and County Planners Association of Kenya, which concluded its annual conference in Eldoret town.
He was feted along with the chairman of the Eldoret municipal board Julius Kitur and town manager Tito Koiyet.
Chairman of the association Mairura Omwenga said Bii had worked hard to ensure Eldoret was clean and well planned as it awaits elevation to City status in the next few months.
“Within a very short period governor Bii has helped to give Eldoret a new profile that makes it fit for the city status”, said Mairura.
Bii presided over the awards ceremony for the event where 11 other towns, cities, municipalities, individuals and organisations were feted.
Nyeri Water and Sanitation Company was awarded for the best water services while Homa Bay county was awarded for good planning and implementation of the housing projects whose construction was commissioned by President William Ruto.
Mairura said the association had noted improvements in measures to ensure good planning and cleanliness in several cities and towns in the country, making them better habitats for residents.
He, however, regretted that corruption and grabbing of public land had greatly affected planning in most major towns including Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru.
Mairura said some of the towns did not even have access roads to help in response during disasters like collapse of buildings and fire incidents. He said many of the access roads had been grabbed.
“We are happy that of late there has been good effort by the EACC and the national government and counties to ensure that the land is repossessed and reverted for public use,” Mairura said.
He said urban areas required adequate land for roads and other public institutions like schools and hospitals.
“As a society we must look for ways of ensuring that we stop the massive corruption and greed that has interfered with better planning for our future generations,” Mairura said.
Governor Bii was last week ranked among the top governors in service delivery. Since he took over one year ago his administration has invested in giving a facelift to Eldoret through rehabilitation of several public facilities.
The facilities, which had been neglected but have now been rehabilitated, include the Eldoret aboretum, fire station, the county hospital, the county headquarters, the teachers advisory centre and the Homecraft centre among other institutions and facilities.
The proposal for elevation of Eldoret to a city is now at the Senate and after approval it will be forwarded to President William Ruto for a award of a charter.
