Awendo forging future in the midst of cane

Founded out of a need to house sugar firm workers, town is today one of the fastest growing in the region, writes  NICK OLUOCH

It started in the late 1970s following the establishment of the South Nyanza Sugar Company, popularly known as Sony Sugar, to provide housing facilities for the company workers. Today, however, Awendo is one of the fastest growing towns in the region.

Strategically placed between Kisii and Migori towns, Awendo has continued to attract investors and homeowners seeking an escape from the high population and the noise within the two towns.

According to the immediate former mayor of the town Johnston Owiro, the growth of the town, which currently has more than 30,000 residents, has been mostly attributed to the fact that the council made it easier for new investors to own and develop land.

“The council did away with most of the rules hindering development,” he says adding that that has, in turn, attracted investors who have not been able to develop land elsewhere.

And the results of the simplified rules can already be seen with several structures, both commercial and residential being put up across the town as more people move into the town.

And with the coming of the county system of governance where Migori town will be hosting the county headquarters, Owiro expects that more people will continue settling into the town, especially those who will be working in Migori.

“We offer something that the other towns cannot offer — a quiet place to reside,” he says, adding that the town is bracing itself for more investors coming to look for land to construct their own homes.

Real estate

And as expected, the flourishing real estate sector has acted as a catalyst to a number of businesses within the town among them construction companies.

Initially, most of the construction was done by small firms and owners constructing their own buildings with the few constructors having to be moved from Migori or Kisii town and only went there for specific tasks.

However, with the rise in the number of construction work being conducted in the area, a number of construction companies have since opened up offices as they seek to fill the need for well-equipped firms to handle the ever-increasing construction work.

Among the contractors working in the town is George Maando. He has been a contractor in Awendo for about five years and has seen the town grow from a single street town to its current status.

“At the moment, I am working with about ten construction companies,” he says.  He also operates a concrete quarry near Awendo town where he supplies the town with building stones.

According to George, the expansion of the town has pushed up rental rates with demand, especially for commercial space high. Smaller premises go for as much as Sh15,000 to Sh24,000 per month.

This is even much higher for bigger institutions like banks and supermarkets who pay between Sh150,000 to Sh240,000 per month to hire a single floor of buildings in the town.

A 50 by 100 feet piece of land within town goes for about Sh350,000, which is high compared to the surrounding towns.

This has, however, not deterred homeowners who have continued moving into the town.

Clean drinking water

Another probable reason why more people have opted to settle in the town is the fact that it is perhaps the only town in Nyanza with adequate clean drinking water for all residents.

This follows the completion of the Awendo Water Project, a project funded by the South Korean government and work over Sh300 million and which got completed late last year.

But like any other town experiencing fast growth, Awendo too, is experiencing pressure on land,  leaving little space for expansion, which is needed if the town is to continue expanding.

Things have been made even trickier by the sugarcane, which led to the establishment of the town; it has turned to be something of a curse by taking thousands of acres, leaving little space for expansion.

Thus, the rapid growth of the housing market has, of late, been somewhat slowed down by lack of land for expansion. Land around the town is under large sugarcane estates owned by Sony Sugar factory.

 “Awendo has to urgently get space to expand because the demand is huge, ” says George.

He adds that failure to do so will make it lose out to surrounding towns like Rongo and Uriri, which still have plenty of land for expansion.

On their part, the town’s residents have welcomed its growth and expressed confidence that the increase in the land prices and rent will eventually improve their life.

“We are experiencing increase in business and we believe the rent is a price we have to pay if we are to live in a big town,” says Jacob Otieno, a small-scale businessman in the town. He adds that although the new rates first came as a shock, they accepted that the town was growing and things had to change.

And according to Owiro the former mayor, the Awendo Town Council has already written to Sony Sugar Company severally to ask for more land for expansion.

Need for land

“We have realised that we need land for expansion as we are surrounded by sugarcane,” he says adding that late last year, they wrote to Sony to ask for 250 acres around town, a request which was turned down by the factory’s board.

Despite the request being rejected, Owiro is, however, optimistic they will find a solution together with the board on how to address the issue.

He says what the council was asking for was a few metres on either side of the Migori-Kisii Highway and was not going to interfere with the cane, which is equally important to the town.

This is the same position taken by new Awendo MP Fred Kopiyo, who says the town has reached a point where it will need other amenities that befit its status.

“I believe Awendo needs facilities such as a recreation park to serve the residents,” he says. He adds he will lead the town into making another formal request to Sony Sugar to make up for expansion by building a recreation park, jua kali, social amenities and retail centres to spur growth.