Kenya to have five cities

Kenya will have two new cities if a proposed Bill approved by Cabinet becomes law.

The Urban Areas and Cities Amendment Bill is among three bills approved by the Cabinet in its Thursday meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Bill is aimed at amending the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011 to cater for the classification of urban centres in a more realistic manner. In the current law, only Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu are classified as cities. “Under the Bill, there would be five cities, 64 municipalities, 66 townships and 80 market centres,” a statement from State House reads.

Although Cabinet did not reveal the the two cities, Nakuru and Eldoret may be the beneficiaries as they are currently the only listed municipalities.

Kenya may also soon have the The Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS) after Cabinet approved the Bill aimed at establishing such a service. .

The third Bill, the National Irrigation Policy and Irrigation Bill, creates the National Irrigation Policy that gives mechanisms through which the National Government and the county governments will develop irrigation. The Bill proposes the establishment of the National Irrigation Development Authority (NIDA).