The county government of Uasin Gishu has initiated a plan that seeks to ensure there are no unnecessary structures within Eldoret town.
Lands, Housing and Urban Development County Executive Committee Member Anthony Sitienei say the initiative is aimed at ‘cleaning the town’ in readiness for not only the upcoming Devolution Conference but also the anticipated city status.
Speaking to Uasin Gishu News during the inspection of the structures on Thursday, Sitienei said the new bid is also aimed at addressing the challenge of mushrooming structures that have been witnessed in recent years.
“There are so many misplaced structures placed in wrong positions. We have signages hung on the walls which is unacceptable as per the laws,” noted the County Executive.
“We’re trying to clean the town because, over time, we have had many unnecessary mushrooming structures. Basically, we’re putting things in order,” he added.
During the Thursday exercise, numerous misplaced signages were removed from the buildings by county officers while traders in ‘mabati’ stalls were issued with a 24-hour notice to replace their structures with ‘jungle green’ irons.
According to the CECM, traders had already been issued with notices on what they needed to be done but most of them never complied.
Pedestrian walkways
He also revealed that all buildings will be repainted in part of the efforts to give Eldoret town a facelift ahead of the anticipated city status conferment.
Eldoret Town Manager Tito Koiyet who was part of the county team inspecting the exercise said building owners will also be required to ensure their frontage are well paved.
“We want to make sure that pedestrian walkways are available for the pedestrians that is why we’re doing what we’re doing. Pavements are public spaces that also provide services to the landlords,” Koiyet said.
He noted that their plan is to create sufficient spaces for pedestrians within the town.
Koiyet is also optimistic that Eldoret will be getting the city status charter during the upcoming Devolution Conference that the town will be hosting.
On her part, the County Director of Housing Beatrice Menjo challenges landlords and businesspersons to ensure they beautify their frontages by planting flowers and pots for the town to look beautiful.
