Cities –Eldoret Town will soon be endorsed by President William Ruto to join the growing list of new cities in Kenya.
On Wednesday September 20, the Senate gave a node to the bid aimed at elevating the Uasin Gishu-based Town into a fully-fledged city.
The Senate Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations approved the papers that will see the Town receive an official urbanization through a presidential charter.
It was established that Eldoret had met all the required standards to join the city bracket as outlined in Section 5 and the First Schedule of the Urban Areas and Cities Act of 2011.
Eldoret, a major town in Uasin Gishu County, is being elevated at the time the new president of Kenya Dr. William Ruto has taken power now 12 months in office.
Ruto hails from Uasin Gishu County.
He will be required to officially endorse it so that to make it the fifth city after Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiusmu, Nakuru(which was elevated in 2021 by Uhuru Kenyatta) and now Eldoret City.
The Devolution Committee noted that it had also engaged the Uasin Gishu County leadership, the National Government and Senate leadership headed by Speaker Amason Kingi in reaching at this conclusion.
The Constitution of Kenya also requires that a thorough public participation takes place in such a matter of public interest.
Any town getting to the city level must have a population of over 250,000 persons. Eldoret boasts of a population of 475, 716 heads.
Any municipality meeting the threshold, according to the Urban Areas and Cities Act, can get a conferment from the president to become a complete city.
