Trade development and regulation is one of the 14 devolved functions after promulgating the 2010 Constitution of Kenya.
When county governments came in place in 2013, leaders of the devolved units rushed to establish markets to give business people a good business environment.
In Trans Nzoia County, tens of fresh produce markets were built in all the 25 wards. However, the majority of these markets either stalled or are complete but not operational due to several factors.
Why are Trans Nzoia markets not serving their intended purpose?
We sought to find out why the markets are not serving their intended purposes and if at all there is value for money pumped into the now-dead investments.
One of the flagship projects of the first Governor of Trans Nzoia County Patrick Khaemba is the Kitale Business Complex famously known as Masinde Muliro market.
The multi-floored project has been under construction for the last five years. Although Khaemba officially opened the signature project before the August 9, 2022, general elections, it is neither complete nor operational despite galloping over KSh 700 million.
The Auditor General’s report for 2021-2022 revealed that the project is over 27 months late after the expiration of the contract period. This has forced more than three thousand traders to sell their wares along the streets of Kitale town.
Grace Njeri, a second-hand clothes seller said they have been waiting for the allocation of stalls for a period of two years and are not sure when they will be ushered in officially to the mega project.
“Imagine we normally pay Ksh 40 per day and yet we operate in very harsh conditions. We do not have shades; we battle with rain and sunshine. The worst thing is that we don’t have toilets around,” Njeri said.
14 kilometres from Kitale town, the Kinyoro fresh produce market that was constructed during Khaemba’s regime lies idle. The market that was intended to serve traders is not in good shape after it was vandalized.
Dickens Simiyu, a fruit vendor said the market which is strategically positioned in the Kinyoro trading centre serves as a constant reminder of the wastage of public resources.
“We are sad that such projects are spread across the county. How I wish the money had been reallocated to other projects like drilling boreholes and even financing education for needy students,” Simiyu said.
Emoru market on the border of Kwanza and Cherang’any Constituency is now the idlers’ hang-out place.
David Too, a resident of Trans Nzoia and an opinion leader said the market is not serving its objective because all the stakeholders were not involved in all the stages of project implementation.
“I can categorically state that there was no public participation. Some people who wanted to gain some political mileage brought it here just to be seen to be working, unfortunately, the project is dead,” Too said.
Traders sell products outside of complete markets
Imagine a scenario where there is an existing market infrastructure but traders choose to sell their products outside the markets because of the market location. This is the exact situation at the Chebarus Fresh Produce market in Cherang’any Constituency, Waitaluk market in Kiminini and Chepchoina market in Endebess Constituency.
Traders Rose Paul from Kiminini and Wekesa Mang’oli, a businessperson in Chepchoina, Endebess said the proper selection of the site for the majority of the markets was not done at the initial stages.
“Most of the businesspeople sell their merchandise outside their designated stalls because the markets are far from roads where customers are. These markets can only serve their purposes if force is applied such that all traders are contained in their designated stalls,” one said.
Patrick Gacheru, the Trans Nzoia County Executive Committee Member in charge of Trade and Industrialization, admitted that some of the markets constructed by the previous regime are not in use and vowed to ensure that they are properly utilized.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that we create a conducive environment for our business people. We shall make sure all the markets have water, toilets and electricity,” Gacheru said.
The county government has set aside KSh 20 million for renovation and completion of stalled markets across the county in the 2024/2025 financial year budget.
Titus Kilong’i the chairperson of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry KNCCI, Trans Nzoia branch said the chamber is willing to partner with the county in identifying potential investors.
“It is possible for all the stalled markets to make economic sense. As a chamber we have contacts of potential investors both local and foreign who can transform our markets into profit-making ventures,” Kilongi said.
Steve Bonuke, an economist and a public finance expert said such projects are a big wastage. He added that the former regime committed a cardinal sin by assuming that markets were the priority of the local traders.
“We have ended up with what we call in economics dead capital, you cannot recoup, you cannot break even, you cannot make profits and you cannot liquidate government’s property so you end up having a white elephant which does not make economic sense,” Bonuke said.
He argued that some of the markets have stalled due to non-payment of contractors and that some county government officers demand huge kickbacks from contractors awarded tenders.