Kenya Campaign Cities Initiative
By Keith Mudadi, Programme Analyst at Cities Alliance.
Cities Alliance’s trademark Campaign Cities programme has successfully concluded in Kenya. The programme created local partnerships in the two counties of Kajiado and Nyandarua to deliver specific initiatives for promoting equitable economic growth over a 24-month period. Today we are proud to share the Local Assessment Reports for Kajiado and Nyandarua, Policy Briefs and Recommendation for Kajiado and Nyandarua, as well as Nyandarua Magumu Market Venture Strategy and Structure and Kajiado Market Assessment and Management.
Kenya’s estimated urban population comprises 28% (14 million) of the total population and will reach 44 million people by 2050. This will be approximately 46% of the country’s total population. The problem of rapid urbanization is not unique to Kenya. Nonetheless, the issue of a fast-growing city-dwelling population combined with the lack of adequate infrastructure especially the treatment of water, sewage, waste and drainage threaten the quality of life and the ability of county governments to sustain themselves environmentally and financially. Not only are County Government faced with the challenges of providing basic services, but they also need to create the conditions and ecosystem for equitable economic growth.
The issue of managing the development of urban centres to meet the development requirements of the growing population requires a comprehensive approach. Against this background, Cities Alliance partnered with UN-Habitat under the Campaign Cities Initiative of the Joint Work Programme for Fostering Equitable Economic Growth in Cities (JWP-EEG) to support the County governments of Nyandarua and Kajiado to develop sustainable interventions that will promote equitable economic growth.
A kickoff workshop for the Campaign Cities Initiative was held in August 2018 for the purposes of formulating areas of strategic work for promoting access to municipal public goods and services in a manner that directly contributes to EEG. The workshops brought together diverse stakeholders including representatives from local government, chambers of commerce, the informal economy and the broader community. From the workshop, two priority areas for each county were identified by participants – land use control to managing urban development for both counties, development of a wholesale market & logistics center at Magumu area in Nyandarua County and development of a Market Management Authority in Kajiado County. The priority areas were chosen based on their ability to impact most livelihoods in the counties, influence immediate economic growth in other sectors, enhance county revenues in a short run, and significantly contribute to planned urbanization in the county.
Policy Briefs and Recommendations
The support provided under the Campaign Cities initiative delivered evidence-based policy briefs and recommendations that are designed to help economic growth trajectories in Nyandarua and Kajiado County towards more inclusive and sustainable development. Measures identified to improve land use control for managing urban development include:
- Legal foundations for managing urban development and using development fees.
- Spatial planning and permit approval as mechanisms for managing development
- Using development fees to fund urban infrastructure
- Land rates as a mechanism for revenue generation and managing urban development
Nyandarua Magumu Market Venture Strategy and Structure
Technical support was also provided for developing a full proposal for developing Magumu wholesale market and logistic centre infrastructure for immediately transforming business in the Nyandarua County. The Magumu market project has been designed to benefit the farmers of Nyandarua and its environs. This development, if successful, will significantly expand the economic base of Nyandarua. Located at the convergence of two densely populated counties and major transit roads, the market will host sellers of a variety of agricultural produce satisfying demand from the local population and beyond in Nakuru, Thika, Naivasha and Nairobi metropolitans. Strategically located along a busy highway (Nairobi-Nakuru road), and between two fast-growing junction markets, it will be a hub of new commercial, agricultural, cultural, and recreational mixed-use development serving the residents of Nyandarua, Kiambu farmers, and numerous traders and commuters.
Kajiado Market Assessment and Management
The Kajiado county has a total of 34 markets; some 20 permanent markets operating daily, and the remaining temporary markets operating once or twice a week. Despite their importance, the management of markets as instruments of economic and social development in the county has received little attention to date. For the most part, markets do not have adequate sanitation, protection from weather elements, clean water sources, and other amenities that would improve the quality of the life both for consumers and vendors. The Campaign Cities initiative developed a strategy for the establishment of the Kajiado County Market Authority. The Market Authority is to be a statutory organizational framework (a fully county-owned company) that manages the county’s markets and promotes all activities necessary for their ongoing management, operation and maintenance, providing market vendors and entrepreneurs with conditions and infrastructures appropriate to their needs.
Further information and a summary of the Campaign Cities programme in Kenya can be found at:
https://www.citiesalliance.org/resources/knowledge/cities-alliance-knowledge/campaign-city-brief-5
https://www.citiesalliance.org/resources/knowledge/cities-alliance-knowledge/campaign-city-brief-6
