Investors flock quiet town after seat of power moves

By JAMES MUNYEKI

Nyandarua, Kenya: Since the Nyandarua County seat of power was officially shifted to Ol Kalou in the advent of devolution, residents are headed for good times as investors stream the town.

In the past, the town has experienced retarded growth in terms of infrastructure.

But a spot check by The Standard has noted that buildings are fast coming up in the ordinarily quiet town.

After the governor and his office shifted from Nyahururu town, which in the past acted as the county headquarters, the town has attracted business people rushing to acquire property. Financial providers have also not been left out. The last seven months have seen three banks, Equity, Co-operative and Family, open their doors to the residents.

And land brokers are laughing all the way to the bank after making a kill from the booming transactions. The move has seen the price of land in the town double.

According to Samuel Muraya, one of the directors of a surveyors’ firm in Ol Kalou, a plot of land at the Central Business District is now costing slightly over Sh4 million conpared to Sh2 million last year.

“Many businessmen are now opting for Ol Kalou rather than Nyahururu. We expect a growth rate of about 70 per cent by December next year,” he says. Muraya says the main reason why people are rushing to develop land in the town is due to expectation that all government offices will be relocated to the town.

Currently, the main government offices are in Nyahururu but they are set to move to Ol Kalou by June next year. “The town will be a beehive of activities and all government transactions will be there,” he says.

He also says investors are looking to benefit from the accommodation challenge the town is facing by putting up residential houses.

Government employees working at the county offices have now been forced to commute from Nakuru, Gilgil and Nyahururu towns due to shortage of houses.

A plot of land within Site and Huruma estates, where most investors are building houses, costs Sh1 million. “The price has gone up by a very big margin,” he says.

However, the water shortage problem and poor roads have been cited as a hindrance to development.