- The report said Eldoret met the requirements to be a city as set out under Section 5 and the First Schedule of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011.
- Senate received the resolution from the county assembly after adopting an ad-hoc committee report in June.
Image: COURTESY
Senators are today expected to resume the debate on a motion seeking to confer the Municipality of Eldoret a city status.
The motion was first moved on the floor of the House on September 20 by Wajir Senator Mohamed Abbas who chairs the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations.
The committee, in its recommendation, gave a green light to the bid to have the town upgraded.
“That, the Senate adopts the report of the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations on the application for conferment of city status to the Municipality of Eldoret laid on the table of the Senate and pursuant to Section 8(6) of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011 the Senate approves the conferment of City status to the Municipality of Eldoret,” the motion reads.
The report said Eldoret met the requirements to be a city as set out under Section 5 and the First Schedule of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011.
Senate received the resolution from the county assembly after adopting an ad-hoc committee report in June.
While considering the application, the committee held several discussions with the Speaker of the Senate Amason Kingi, Uasin Gishu senator and the National Executive.
It also conducted an inspection tour of several infrastructural facilities in Eldoret town.
A public participation engagement was also organized for the committee to engage the citizens and listen to their views on the application.
The report noted that the population of Eldoret is estimated at 475,716 people, consisting of 237,223 males and 238,477 females as per the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Population and Housing Census of 2019.
“This exceeds the requirement to have a population of at least 250,000 residents for an urban area to be classified as a city,” it said.
The report added that the Municipality of Eldoret has an Integrated Urban Development Plan for the period (2021-2026) and also has a Spatial Plan and a Local Physical and Land Use Development Plan.
“The municipality can generate sufficient revenue to sustain its operation since its revenue potential is Sh2.5 billion, with the highest actual collection of Sh900 million in the last financial year,” it noted.
It added that the municipality also can collect its own source revenue from markets, single business permits, land rates, street parking, and bus parks.
“The county government of Uasin Gishu in collaboration with the Kenya National Museums should ensure plans to construct a museum in Eldoret town are fast-tracked since this is a requirement under the First Schedule of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011,” the report stated.
Members of the committee embarked on a fact-finding mission upon receipt of the Uasin Gishu County Assembly’s resolution to adopt the report of the Ad Hoc on the conferment of city status to the Municipality of Eldoret.