Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii Chelilim alias Koti Moja has pledged to adequately facilitate a team that is drafting a report that will play a key role in Eldoret being conferred a city status.
Chelilim’s predecessor Jackson Mandago had on July 8, 2022, established a seven-member ad-hoc committee which is legally mandated to assess the status of Eldoret town in readiness for the city status.
Further, the committee consists of representatives from various sectors among them the business community, surveyors, planners, architects, lawyers and county officials.
On Wednesday, the governor met members of the ad-hoc committee who briefed him on the process of conferring the town a city status.
The committee is chaired by the Uasin Gishu Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) chairperson Wily Kenei.
“I was briefed by the adhoc committee mandated to guide the process of conferment of Eldoret town to city status,” the governor said in a post on his Facebook page.
It is during the meeting that he affirmed his commitment to support the ad-hoc committee.
“My Government will facilitate the committee adequately to ensure that we attain the city status the soonest,” he said.
Conducive environment for business
During the meeting, the team also addressed some of the challenges the business people face in Uasin Gishu.
Chelilim further affirmed his willingness to ensure Eldoret has a conducive environment for the business community and attract more investors.
“We will keep engaging the Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders to boost investor confidence, train potential entrepreneurs and harmonize the statutory obligations within the county and the entire North Rift region,” Koti Moja said.
Aside from the KNCCI Uasin Gishu chairman, other members of the ad-hoc committee steering the journey of Eldoret getting the city status include Prof. Leonard Mulongo from Kenya Institute of Planners (KIP), Florence Nyole (Architectural Association of Kenya), and Grace Chelagat representing Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
Requirement for city status
Others are Stephen Kipleting from the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPA), Geoffrey Koros (Kenya Institute of Surveyors) and Association of Urban Areas and Cities representative Geoffrey Kirui.
For a town to get city status, it needs to have a population of about 250,000 people, a good road network, an arboretum, an airport and a good supply of water and sewerage services – most of which Eldoret has already met.
Today, Eldoret is ranked the fifth most populated urban area in the country after Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Ruiru.
The population was 289,380 in the 2009 Census, and it is currently the fastest growing town in Kenya with 475,716 people according to the 2019 National Census.
