The Kakamega government has given owners of undeveloped plots until February 1 to surrender them to the county or develop them.
Repossession of the idle plots was approved by the county cabinet in October last year.
The county government has listed more than 300 plots in the CBD and adjacent suburbs. The owners have left them undeveloped, though they were allocated more than 30 years ago.
The targeted plots were allocated to former politicians, business people and companies.
The move is part of Governor Wycliffe Oparanya’s plan to elevate Kakamega town to city status, with more state benefits by 2020.
“We want to repossess these plots so they can be allocated to people who can develop them to speed up Kakamega’s growth,” Lands executive Alfred Matianyi said yesterday.
Matianyi said the repossession will also help the county get land for its housing programme that has stagnated for lack of land.
Owners have been asked to present their letters of allotment, evidence of payment of allotment fee, a copy of the lease documents duly signed by the National Land Commission, current search and a copy of approved building plans.
“The law requires one to present plans for approvals within 24 months of allocation to commence development of the plots. But some have been vacant for as long as 40 years,” Matianyi said.
In some plots, shanties have been put up. Others are used as parking lots, he said.
During last year’s Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kakamega, Oparanya said the town will be celebrating its centenary in 2020.
The Cities and Urban Areas Act was amended to reduce by half population of cities to 250,000 people. Kakamega town’s population is currently estimated at 150,000.
The town was gazetted as the headquarters of Western region in 1920.
Kakamega municipality was established in the early 1970s, with infrastructure to sustain about 500 households. The population has grown and outstripped the infrastructure, requiring expansion for better services.
10-year plan
The county government has finalised preparations of a 10-year spatial plan, proposing expansion of the municipality.
The expansion will include Khayega township towards Kisumu, Eshisiru township towards Mumias, Lubao township towards Webuye and Shinyalu township.
The spatial plan has been approved by the cabinet and now awaits approval of the county assembly.
It will increase the size of Kakamega municipality from 49 to 123 square kilometres. The plans will map towns into middle-level, low-level and high-end residential areas’ categories based on their income.