The proposed Kakuma/Kalobeyei Municipality is at its process of conferment to municipality status as public participation exercise is due for Thursday 3rd March 2023, in Kakuma, Lopur, and Kalobeyei Wards of Turkana West Sub-county.
This comes after the Ad-hoc Committee approved by previous administration embarked on a fact-finding mission to determine and review whether Kakuma/Kalobeyei town meets the requisite criteria for classification as a Municipality.
The County Executive Committee Member for Lands, Physical Planning, Housing and Urban Areas Management, Peter Akono lauded the support the House Committee on Lands has given to his Department as the proposed Kakuma-Kalobeyei Municipality has been work in progress.
“I am indebted to the support the Committee on Lands, Physical Planning, Housing and Urban Areas Management has extended to our Department and especially in support in the process to confer Kakuma-Kalobeyei to a municipality status, which will be a milestone after Lodwar Municipality was gazetted in January 2021 after its conferment in December, 2018”. Said CEC Akono.
As a baseline, he noted, the proposed municipality after its conferment process, will help boost the revenue collection in addition to what the County normally collects in Kakuma.
CEC also revealed that, will maintain the good working relationship with the County Assembly’s Committee on Lands to secure the World Bank’s financial support of Ksh. 3 billion in Kakuma before July, this year.
The support will be to invest in social infrastructural development in entire Kakuma.
Additionally, the Lands CEC added that after the Kakuma-Kalobeyei Municipality is over, the joint team of the Committee and Lands Department, will embark on the same exercise to confer the eight proposed urban centres starting with Lokichar to town status.
Representing the Clerk to the County Assembly, Roseline Aite said the delay in the proposed Kakuma-Kalobeyei Municipality was as a result of the second session of County Assembly that ended without approving the report and thus transferred to the current third session of the County Assembly.
Aite said the public participation which is a requirement in matters of public interest should be engaging, consultative and targeting the right participants in having their voice heard in matters involving members of the public.
She asked the Honourable Menders and the Lands Department to keenly work along agreed timelines to avoid missing out on partners financial support pegged on tight deadlines.
The Committee’s Chair, Hon. Patrick Esekon expressed the support of his team in working as a team with Lands Department to ensure they deliver services to residents in Turkana.
He said, has already started lobbying the Budget and Appropriation Committee to consider increasing the budget allocation for the Lands Department.
On Kenya Urban Support Programme II, the members agreed that the US$ of 50 million by the State Department of Urban Development and World Bank is a move keen to support the upgrading Kakuma- Kalobeyei municipality to the desired status in the benefit of host and refugee communities residing in Kakuma.
The support is intended to establish and strengthen urban institutions to deliver improved infrastructure and services in refugee hosting counties in Garissa (Dadaab) and Turkana (Kakuma).
Hon. Members who spoke were: Gilbert Topos (Lopur), Lydia Ejore, Julius Edung( Kalobeyei), Ruth Kuya (Township) and Rebecca Esekon.
Those present were, Hon.Dorcas Epusiye(vice chair), Hon. Samuel Lomodo (co-opted), Hon. Mary Arupe, Hon.Willy Napuyo, Hon. Patrick Napion (co-opted), Hon. Bethwel Kobwong’in and Hon. Vincent Ekipor.
Committee Secretariat was also in attendance.
County Staff were led by Peter Ngala (Deputy Director, Urban Areas Management), Francis Lorogoi, Joseph Kwaba and Steve Barasa, County Surveyor.
