Oburu Odinga Proposes Elevation of Kakamega to City Status: "It's Developed and Organised"

Kakamega Town could be Kenya's fifth city should the proposal by EALA MP Oburu Odinga be taken to account by relevant institutions. According to Oburu, Kakamega municipality has attained the features befitting a city saying its elevation to the status is long overdue.

  • East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) member Oburu Odinga is pushing for Kakamega's elevation to a city status saying the municipality has developed
  • According to Oburu, the municipality is organised and clean, has the critical infrastructure, including high-rise buildings
  • Among the infrastructures which Oburu argues make Kakamega fit for the status is the Kakamega Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH) and the Bukhungu Stadium

Kakamega Town could be Kenya's fifth city should the proposal by EALA MP Oburu Odinga be taken to account by relevant institutions.

According to Oburu, Kakamega municipality has attained the features befitting a city saying its elevation to the status is long overdue.

The legislator who recently toured the county stated that the construction of the Kakamega Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH) and the completion of the Bukhungu Stadium among other infrastructures make the municipality ripe to be conferred the city status.

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"The hospital itself is a landmark. It is something which is exemplary because I can't imagine such kind of project could be up with insufficient funds which just trickle down. The governor has managed within a short time to build a hospital almost bigger than the Russian one built by the Russian government which was one of the superpowers then," said Oburu.

He lauded the county's chief executive Wycliffe Oparanya whom he said had worked and delivered much within his two terms making Kakamega meet the parameters requisite for city status.

According to Oburu, the municipality under the watch of Oparanya has become organised, clean and developed making it a perfect co-equal of Mombasa, Nairobi, Kisumu and now Nakuru.

"The way I have seen the county, it is more than ripe. There is sewerage, highrise buildings continue to come up, the town is being developed in an organised manner. Kakamega has made big strides making it ripe to be a city," he added.

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Elevation of a municipality to a city

In Kenya, the request by a municipality to have it accorded the city status is handled by the Senate.

In this case, an ad hoc committee constituted in the Kakamega County Assembly addresses the request to the upper house.

The Senate's Committee on Devolution then deliberates on the matter as it engages the relevant stakeholders including the governor as it assesses the state of the municipality and if it meets the standards of a city.

After a series of deliberations, the committee tables before the floor of the Senate its recommendation which is debated upon.

Should the recommendation pass in the Senate, its report is forwarded to the president for assent.

Upon the president's approval, a charter is issued officially conferring the municipality in question the city status.

Cities in Kenya

The country has traditionally had Mombasa, Kisumu and Nairobi as the main cities until June 2021 when the Senate conferred Nakuru as the fourth city.

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Urban Areas and Cities Bill, 2017

According to the Urban Areas and Cities (Amendment) Bill of 2017, city status is accorded if the municipality holds at least 250,000 people, its ability to provide basic services water and sanitation, street lighting.

Other parameters are proper drainage systems, an effective public transport system, health services, ambulance services, and public cemeteries.

A municipality eyeing the status must also have a fire fighting and disaster management system in place.

A city is also expected to have several recreational facilities, state of the art stadia facilities, good road networks, solid waste management systems, education institutions that include pre- care facilities, training institutions, community centres, conference facilities and air transport facilities.

Reliable sources of energy and electricity supply is also a factor considered before the city status is conferred.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

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