Kenya to Get More Cities as President Uhuru Signs New Law

The number of cities in Kenya is set to increase from the current three after President Kenyatta on Tuesday signed a new law that redefines city status.

Kenyatta on Tuesday signed into law the Urban Areas and Cities (Amendment) Bill 2017.

Speaking at State House after assenting to the Bill, Kenyatta said the new law seeks to accelerate delivery of efficient and quality services to Kenyans.

The new law gives County Governments authority to review the criteria provided for classifying an area as a city, municipality, town or market center.

The new law reduces the population threshold required for an area to be declared as a city from 500,000 to 250,000 people.

Urban areas with a population of at least 50,000 are eligible to become municipalities, 10,000 for a town and 2,000 residents for a market center.

The law also proposes the creation of boards to govern and manage cities and municipalities. It also outlines specific requirements for appointment to the boards.

Kenya currently has three cities namely Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu.

Under the new law, big towns including Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Thika, Embu, and Naivasha are eligible to be elevated into cities.

Kenyatta on Tuesday also signed into law Petroleum Bill 2017 and Energy Bill 2017.