The push to have Eldoret elevated to city status is now at an advanced stage.
For the last three or four years, the County Government of Uasin Gishu has been going through a process that will culminate in Eldoret being declared a city.
Currently, an ad hoc committee set up by the governor is receiving views from various stakeholders on the city status bid. This is part of the requirements as contained in the Urban Areas and Cities Act.
But even with the city status push ongoing, there have been questions and anticipations on what impact the elevation will have on land owners, residents, and business community among other stakeholders.
Some argue rent for residential estates will go up; others say land prices will also raise while others believe there will be an increase in land rates.
However, according to Wilson Kibet, the founder of Baoriat Agencies, an Eldoret-based real estate agency, land owners should not expect huge changes in terms of prices.
High land prices
Kibet argues that already land prices within Eldoret are too high compared to other cities.
“When we become a city, the impact of land cost won’t be high,” notes the Baoriat Agencies’ founder.
The agency has been in the market for the last 22 years, and Kibet says they have been closely monitoring trends in the purchase and sale of land and plots over the years.
“The changes that we may have are on land rates. However, the county through the Department of Lands should come up with an efficient way of collecting rates to provide services required of city status or else we will just be a city on paper with no corresponding services,” he adds.
It has usually been a perception that when Eldoret becomes a city, land prices will automatically rise, but for Kibet, this can only happen if there will be corrective measures to address the already high prices.
Are there any anticipated benefits of Eldoret being a city?
The Baoriat Agencies founder notes that the biggest beneficiaries once Eldoret becomes a city are those who own land and will be offering various services like housing.
“There will be a benefit to those who already own land and are providing services but for anyone who will be selling land, prices will remain flat as people do not have the purchasing power,” Kibet noted.
The negative side of the city’s status is the fact that land rates will go up, the same as business licence fees.
“But if one has an expansive mindset, the negatives will be cancelled by the positives if they stay in the market longer,” he said.
Bernice Cherotich Kitum, a landowner in Eldoret town believes the city’s status will come with its own benefits.
She notes that land will have an added value due to better roads, better healthcare and better markets that will come with the new status.
“This will attract more people to come to Eldoret to provide housing and other related services,” Cherotich says.
Requirements for city status in Kenya
The law provides that for an urban area to be proclaimed a city in Kenya, it must first fulfil several conditions, including having infrastructural facilities, disaster management capacity, integrated development plans and the capacity to generate sufficient revenue to sustain operations.
Further, the urban area must have at least 500,000 residents. According to Statista, as of August 2022, Eldoret was the fourth most-populated metropolitan area with a population of 218,000.
