Embu’s wobbling growth

Once known for its agricultural prowess, the town located on the southeastern slopes of Mt Kenya is struggling with challenges of urbanisation, writes JAMES WANZALA

Embu is known for its jacaranda trees that literally turn the municipality into a purple shower when in bloom around October and November each year.

But behind the flowery façade is a town struggling to remain relevant and many hope the devolved government structure will help develop the town.

Located about 120 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, Embu served as the provincial headquarters of Eastern Province, before the change of administrative structures. Despite its prominence as a provincial headquarters, however, its growth has been slow, losing out to other major towns in the region like Meru.

Embu is located on the southeastern slopes of Mt Kenya on the Meru-Nairobi highway, with a population of about 63,847 by the end of last year, up from 35,736, according to the 2009 census.

Embu County has five districts namely, Embu West, North, East, Mbeere South and North. The region has good volcanic soil suitable for growing Arabica coffee, but few do.

At one time, the county relied mostly on agriculture, especially coffee, but this is no longer the case due to poor prices; people were forced to leave growing coffee and now grow other crops like tea, maize, beans, arrow roots and bananas, according to a resident, Eliud Mbogo.

The town, founded in 1906 by the British settlers for administrative purposes and as an agricultural town, hosts major public facilities, including the Embu Provincial General Hospital. 

The first Embu district commissioner, RG Stone, was housed in an historical building known as the Old ADC’s office on Mama Ngina Street; now it is a commercial rental building housing different businesses.

The building was used as the administrative headquarters where people from all regions in Embu would come for identity cards and other services.

Growth

The town has, since 1906, seen some growth in infrastructure development, education, agriculture, and real estate development, but has never grown to the status expected of a town as old and as prominent as Embu has been over the years. This can be traced to among others reliance on old plans, but plans are underway for new planning of the town.

According to Joyce Kariuki, the county transitional coordinator, the town does not have a master plan.

“We are, however, trying to align the county and national government with Public Private Participation Driven Planning to come up with a master plan in line with the current planning requirements of the town, considering Embu town has grown and is still growing,’’ she told Home And Away.

She adds that investors are flocking to the town, but telling them to wait as they draft a framework to be approved by the county government.

Such changes, put together with infrastructural developments, might just be the much-needed shot in the arm for the county.

Development drivers

With the building of an airport at Don Bosco area, the town and county is set to grow more. Major roads (like the Embu-Mwingi Road) linking it to other towns, are also expected to spur the its growth.

“The building of an airstrip at Don Bosco area has made demand for land go up as people, who were initially living around the area, have been forced to look for land in other areas after being compensated about Sh1.6 million per acre. Ten years ago, an acre went for Sh200,000,” says Maryrita Murangi, director of Rita Consultants.

Embu town has location advantage for being on the Meru-Nairobi highway, connection to Nyeri, through Kirinyaga and North Eastern through the B6 Road.

The town’s hosting of provincial/county headquarters has caused a surge in demand for rental housing, giving property developers a chance to invest in real estate.

Real estate prospects

Some of the outlying areas, which never used to be prime, have become a hot cake for both developers and individuals who are buying land to build their own residential houses far from the hustle and bustle of the town.

According to Murangi, land prices have risen steadily for the past ten years. Ten years ago, she says, a 50 by 100 feet piece of land went for Sh350,000. The same size of land today goes for Sh1 million.

Another area where land prices are rising fast is Gakwegori where Embu University is situated. The coming of the university has made property developers rush to buy land here to build students hostels and in the process, pushing the price of land up.

A 50 by 100 feet plot goes for Sh1.5 million, up from Sh100,000 ten years ago. In the town centre, land is hard to come by and if you get one, you part with between Sh15 million and Sh20 million for a 50 by 100 feet plot.

In Blue Valley Estate, an area where most civil servants live, land prices have risen steadily as the Government bought land to build more houses for civil servants. A 50 by 100 feet plot goes for between Sh1.5 million and Sh2 million.

Kariuki, the county transitional coordinator, has asked people who own huge chunks of freehold land near the town to sell them to willing investors in real estate to develop the town.

No industries

She also regrets that despite the county being blessed with fruits like mangoes and bananas, there are no industries to process the same in the locality, thus much of it is transported to Nairobi.

“Investors should come and exploit such opportunities by building factories so that Embu exports ready-made fruit products like juices and banana crisps,” she says.

However, like any other developing town, it has not lacked its fair share of challenges. According to Kariuki, poor roads have limited further development of the town. Embu does not have an efficient drainage system and is served by an old sewer system.

An M-Pesa attendant on Mama Ngina Street, Samuel Kiberenge, says the administration should provide a conducive environment for business people, especially at municipal markets.

“There are many cases of muggings at the market mainly due to the two slums located nearby where street boys hide,’’ he says.

Another businesswoman, Rehema Mohamed of Rehana Cafe, says Government hospitals in Embu lack some facilities like CT Scan machines, forcing the sick to look for the services in Nairobi.

Retail chains, banking and education institutions have also fuelled the town’s growth with several universities and technical colleges present in the town.

Major banking institutions are also found in the town, unlike ten years ago when only a few were available. They include Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Cooperative Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

Major retail chain supermarkets have also pitched tent in the town.