Nakuru County has six months to use a Sh1 billion urban development grant from the World Bank, but the spending plan has already drawn objections from residents.
The funding is split between Nakuru and Naivasha, which received Sh741 million and Sh344 million respectively. County officials said the projects are tied to efforts to help Nakuru town attain city status.
Some residents say the county moved ahead without proper public participation, as required under the Constitution. They have rejected several of the proposed projects and want a bigger say in how the money is spent.
The strongest resistance has centred on the planned upgrade of Moi Flats. Tenants there accused the county government of trying to force them out and staged protests against the proposal.
Nakuru Tenants Association chairman Newton Akanga said residents only learned later about the grant and the Moi Flats plan. He said there had been no public participation.
“We have just learnt about the grant and the plan to upgrade Moi Flats. There was no public participation,” Mr Akanga said.
Akanga said the estate houses 59 families and argued that the buildings are still in good condition. He said demolishing them without a proper alternative plan would hurt tenants.
Other proposals that have faced pushback include upgrades to Afraha Stadium, a fire station and a storm water drainage system.
Lands Executive Francis Mwangi rejected claims that residents were left out. He said the county had already held public participation meetings and that the projects were agreed on.
“We have a very short time within which we must decide on the projects to be undertaken and start working on them. We are look at projects that will take less time, especially those that are critical but have some structures already in place,” Mr Mwangi said.
“There was public participation where everyone was invited. However, we are still open to receive more suggestions,” he added.
“I also wish to make something clear: We are not evicting anyone, as has been claimed. We only plan to utilise the open spaces between the phases to put up high-rise buildings as we seek to address the challenge of limited housing in the county. “It is unfortunate that some people are coming up to oppose some of the projects after the government succeeded in securing an investor.”
Mwangi said a technical committee was still reviewing proposals from the public participation forums and would continue receiving more suggestions.
