On Monday, I had a brief discussion with John Buckley, the managing director of Safarilink Aviation. We were on our way to Kitale where his company was making an inaugural flight. “Kitale is the country’s bread basket. Why would you be interested in flying to an agricultural destination?” I asked him.

His reply had the buzzword we have become accustomed to in the last four years — devolution. “Devolution has brought more than just what any particular county would be known for. Devolution means diversification,” he told me.

But there was more. Devolution has also created what can be termed as “super counties” or regions that are geographically located to take advantage of business opportunities emanating from nearby counties. This seems to be the case with Trans Nzoia.

While agriculture has been the backbone of economic activities in the region, this has been on a decline owing to a number of factors such as the continuous use of chemical fertilisers, which leads to high soil acidity and reduced harvests.

But it is population pressure that may sound a death knell for the county that has the capacity to feed the entire nation. According to the county’s Integrated Development Plan 2013-2017, land sub-division has created unsustainable land use that will further lead to poor yields.

“The continued fragmentation of land into smaller parcels has considerably reduced the mean holding size of land for small-scale farmers. In addition, most of the land in the county is acquired through cooperative societies and with the subsequent sub-division to members reduces the mean holding size,” says the report.

With such a bleak agricultural outlook, it is time for the county to look for new business in the immediate neighbourhood. The oil fields of Turkana come in handy. According to Trans Nzoia Governor Patrick Khaemba, the county is getting itself ready to share the spoils from the recent discovery of oil in Northern Kenya.

Khaemba is sure that no infrastructure projects earmarked for the oil-rich north can bypass his county. In addition, the oil boom (current low international prices notwithstanding) heralds an increase in service-based businesses such as new hospitality outlets.

transport hub

“The ongoing road upgrades in our region in readiness for the initial oil transport business means a town like Kitale will become a major transport hub. We only hope the government will see the need to have a branch of the Standard Gauge Railway extended to the region as well,” said Khaemba.

He noted that these developments call for the construction of new hospitality outlets to cater for the influx of business-people to the northern and western parts of the country. Kiprono Kittony, the national chairman of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says devolution has made rural counties such as Trans Nzoia contribute to the country’s urban renaissance.

“Kitale and nearby towns are the new cities to watch. Add the expected oil business to the already established tourism hotspots in Mount Elgon and Saiwa Swamp and you have a county that will soon be at par with those that host big cities such as Nairobi,” he says.

It is these prospects for enhanced business travel that Buckley was referring to in our discussion. Trans Nzoia follows in the footsteps of counties such as Isiolo and Kilifi — two regions that were only known as transit points not worth much of one’s time.

Isiolo, for example, was always associated with cattle rustling and other vices common in the arid and semi-arid north. In recent times, however, the county’s fortunes have changed with the proposed resort city — at Kipsing Gap, about 15 kilometres West of Isiolo Town — one of the three envisaged under the country’s economic blueprint Vision 2030.

Already, an international airport with the ability to handle big aircrafts has been constructed in Isiolo.
The mere proposal of the new city made land prices here skyrocket, with a 50ft by 100ft piece of land fetching as much as Sh1 million in the settled areas. A decade ago, a similar parcel of land would sell for Sh100,000 to  Sh200,000.

The new city and airport aside, Isiolo’s business prospects have been boosted further by the completion of the new highway linking Kenya to Ethiopia. The road is part of the Lamu-Port-South-Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) corridor.

Its location in the middle of the country means Isiolo will be the main stopover for people travelling to either direction. Like Kitale, investors in the hospitality industry will find the town an irresistible option.

Kilifi too is yet another super county that will be in the limelight when it comes to reaping economic benefits owing to its strategic location. Again, Kilifi Town was that little urban centre where one stopped to buy some provisions while heading to the white, sandy beaches of Malindi.

Here, too, will be the site of another resort city (the third will be in Diani). But before that can come to fruition, Kilifi is already reaping the benefits of having a wealthy neighbour in the name of Mombasa County. The acute housing demand in the country’s second biggest city has created a thriving construction industry in Kilifi.

AFFLUENT HOMEOWNERS

Among the flagship projects here is Vipingo Ridge, comprising affluent homes belonging to who-is-who in the country’s political and business circles. With the local golf course elevated to international standards recently, visitors to Kilifi can only increase.

As if on cue, Safarilink Aviation was among the first local carriers to smell the accruing business from afar. “Vipingo in Kilifi is one of our successful stories that we are duplicating in places such as Kitale,” says Buckley.

As these few counties look to devolution for new growth, they have to contend with a key challenge. Much of these developments hinge on how well they manage the emotive land issue.

In Kitale, for example, land for the expansion of the local airstrip was grabbed years ago and efforts to recover it bearing little fruit. The governor has tried to buy back the land but valuation discrepancies stand in the way of his endeavours.

valuation figures

“Look at the runway. It is short and may not accommodate bigger aircrafts. Landowners have valued an acre at Sh5 million while government valuation puts it at Sh2 million an acre. We have engaged the National Land Commission to negotiate on our behalf,” says Khaemba.

It is the same script in Isiolo where speculators have driven land prices to unrealistic levels. They hope to cash in on the insatiable demand for land by mega government and county projects.

If these counties can surmount the land issue, then the term “super county” will not be in vain.

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