Town preparing to welcome governor

BY ERIC WAINAINA

Old styled commercial and residential flats have been the face of Kiambu town for a while, but this is now changing.

Most of the county has seen massive real estate development, especially in Kikuyu and Thika, but little has taken place in Kiambu town, which sometime back, served as the areas district headquarters.

Lack of adequate infrastructure even pushed Governor William Kabogo to temporarily shift the county headquarters from the town to Thika.

The move caused uproar among the residents and investors who argued that the move would kill the chances to develop Kiambu.

Rescinded move

However, after endless protests, Kabogo who had already refurbished Thika Municipal Council office and moved in began renovating Kiambu Municipal Council offices in Kiambu town and pledged to move in once they are complete.

And now, investors are rushing to reap from the status awaiting the town — hosting both the county government.

They are giving Kiambu a facelift by setting up modern houses and demolishing the old ones. Locals have welcomed the move, which they say will give the town a better look, and even trigger more development.

Joseph Kamau, a resident says: “It has been very unfortunate that Kiambu town has been serving as a dormitory but not as a business centre. You would hardly get a better place to set an office, but we are happy investors are taking care of that.”

Changing face

Metres away, a building that previously served as a nightclub is undergoing a quick renovation, which includes expansion and changing into a fully-fledged hotel. Nearby is another five-storey building that is offering business premises on the lower floors and residential in the top floors.

Across the town, a number people who own plots are putting up houses and others demolishing the old buildings.

“When the governor and his team moves into the offices in Kiambu, there will be a high demand for offices because people will want to come and set up businesses here, and that’ is why people are either renovating their buildings or developing their idle plots,” says Sylvester Ngamau, a real estate agent.

Ngamau says Kiambu has a shortage of commercial buildings and massive development is required to meet the demand that will be created by the arrival of the county government.

“Definitely, when the governor and his team settle here, they will be a lot of business opportunities because there will be a high flow of people visiting his offices,” Ngamau says.

A section on poverty developers in the town has also begun changing flats from residential to commercial purposes.

One such building in middle of the town and once had a hotel on the ground floor and residential flat above, is now operating as a commercial flat.

Ngamau says: “There will, be a lot of meetings taking place and good conference facilities are needed.”