Excitement as Kitengela town is finally elevated to a municipality

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka hands over a chatter to Julius Ntaiya, the chairman of the newly-elevated Kitengela Municipality. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

The elevation of Kitengela town in Kajiado County into a municipality has been received positively by locals.

They say the move to transform the town that has a population of 230,000 people is a milestone for a town believed to be the fastest-growing town in East Africa.

During the launching ceremony and unveiling of its board, Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku outlined some of the benefits that will come hand in hand with the municipality status of the town.

"By successfully pursuing a charter for the municipality and unveiling its board, the first journey is over. The second one which entails how to use the municipality status to transform the lives of our people leaving here has kicked off," said the county boss who is seeking his second term in office.

Joseph Munyua, a resident of Kitengela, says the elevation was long overdue, expressing hope that the move will help the area grow in matters of development.

"Land is available here, many workers in Nairobi seek accommodation here, construction materials for building houses are not far. The Nairobi National Park is just next to us, Kajiado supplies Nairobi with 30 per cent of meat needs as it’s a livestock county. Therefore, the elevation of our town to a municipality will uplift the lives of the residents in a big way," said Munyua

Further, the governor said feeder roads leading to the new SGR station shall be upgraded to ease movement to the station and encourage the use of the transport hub as an alternative means of transport.

"Our county has seen the fruits of robust collaborations and partnerships with national and international donor agencies. The municipality will be enlisted immediately with relevant state departments, agencies such as the Kenya Urban Roads Authority, and initiatives such as the world bank -funded Kenya Urban Support Programme," said Lenku.

Lenku promised to partner with the county's neighbours, such as Machakos, to design and implement a train-city road network between Athi River and Kitengela to encourage and facilitate more residents to commute to the capital city by rail.

"To enhance good governance, transparency and quick services delivery, all operations within Kitengela municipality such as financial transactions shall be fully automated. Our partners in service provisions including transport will be encouraged to adopt a similar strategy to compliment county efforts," stated the county boss.

He said the partnership will also be extended to cities around the world that share the same philosophy for exchange programmes. 

"I, therefore, welcome all investors, and national and international agencies to tap into the potential of this fast-growing town. I promise them I will offer the most competitive incentives to set shop here," said Lenku.