Kisumu landlords paint buildings to comply with new directive

An aerial view of Kisumu city. [File, Standard]

The owners of commercial premises in Kisumu's central business district have started to comply with an order to paint their buildings.

The county authorities directed owners of commercial houses in the city to paint, repaint or decorate the buildings in a month or be compelled to do so.

The county government said it was concerned that some of the buildings were in sorry state as some walls had cracks, thus depicting the city in bad light.

A spot check has established that most landlords had begun to comply with the order.

Yesterday, City Manager Dorrice Ombara and City Engineer Kevin Ajul said they were happy property owners were complying in order to avoid penalties.

Mr Ajul told the press at the City Hall that the county had waived Sh15,000 and Sh6,750 charged on such services.

Swan Centre, which houses a number of businesses including the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service and the Standard Group, is being repainted.

The order also targets premises that have been left undeveloped for many years either in the central business district or in neighborhoods.

According to Ms Ombara, the county government laws require property owners to repaint their premises every one or two years.

The primary aim of doing so is to improve the aesthetic beauty of the city and maintenance of public health standards, in keeping with the city or municipal's law.

Ombara and Ajul said they had issued a one-month notice, which had since expired but had been extended by one month starting today.

After it expires, the city management plans to carry out physical checks on all buildings and penalise those who fail to comply.

The operations will be jointly undertaken by county public health officers and the city inspectorate department.

Assess compliance

They will visit buildings to assess compliance by property owners, according to the Public Health Act Cap 242 of the laws of Kenya.

Governor Anyang' Nyong'o is keen to make Kisumu a commercial hub of East Africa and plans to improve its beautification to attract even more investors.

This is one of the reasons county authorities have insisted that all building be repainted to boost the town's aesthetic value.

With Kisumu set to host the Africities Summit in 2021, the authorities want to maintain its cleanliness.

"We want Kisumu to be a shining city where everyone wants to be," the governor said.

Africities is the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa’s flagship pan-African event that is held every three years in one of the five regions of Africa.

The summit will gather communities and local authorities in African countries, as well as financial institutions, civil society groups and development partners all over Africa.

To this extent, the owners of commercial premises have a choice either to maintain their original colours or change as they please but they must repaint the buildings.

A tour of some of the city's streets exposes years of neglect, with some buildings in a dilapidated state.

Old buildings that are in a poor state are found on Bank Street, Oginga Odinga Street, Obote Road, Kenyatta Avenue and Ring Road.

Lodwa, Busia and Ojijo Oteko roads have buildings with a fresh coat of paint.