This archive report was first published on 17 July 2019.
Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o has defended plans to evict hawkers from the central business district ahead of the African cities summit in November 2021. The plan is part of a World Bank-funded Sh250 million project aimed at boosting the lakeside town's outlook.
Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony of the county's new Health Executive Professor Judith Miguda-Attyang and county attorney Victor Obondi on Tuesday, the governor said the relocation was aimed at sanitising growth. He said the county had secured 23 acres of land from Kenya Railways for the establishment of a market to house the hawkers.
The governor defended the move to demolish temporary roadside structures to pave way for city beautification, saying there was a need for order. He warned cartels duping traders into erecting such structures with a view of collecting money from them.
Heavy rains flood Kisumu in sewer water due to the clogged system, posing health risks. The city manager, Doris Ombara, said World Bank funds would be used to modernise Kisumu into a walking and healthy millennium city.
Ombara told those who have encroached on road reserves and sewer lines to move out to allow the city's major facelift. Traders evicted from Kenya Railways land to pave way for the expansion of the Kisumu port are among those eyeing space at the new market after running losses.
