In pursuit of the municipality’s vision, the stakeholders identified 5 strategic objectives with a clear mandate to spur economic growth. The strategies aims at building the municipality for its current and future residential needs in the following areas:
- Safe and healthy municipality
- Social municipality
- Infrastructure-led municipality
- Sustainable human settlement municipality
Municipality pillars
Social-Economic growth of the municipality will be anchored on the following pillars of growth:
infrastructure, social amenities and disaster and disaster preparedness.
Infrastructure
Kakamega Municipality infrastructure comprises of transport network, telecommunication, water and sewerage, education facilities, health facilities, power supply, markets, housing, solid waste management, Drainage system, Trade and Tourism and disaster Management systems.
Transport
Kakamega town does not have any rail network, port, airport, and jetties. The town only has an airstrip that needs to be upgraded. The municipality is well served with road network with majority of areas being accessible during the dry season. Currently, there is uneven distribution of the road network in Kakamega town with a concentration in the central and the southern part and dispersion in the northern part.
Telecommunication
The main courier service providers in the municipality include Kenya postal services, G4S, Easy Coach, Coast Bus road services and Shuttles. Most of the areas in the municipality are covered by mobile phone network with the coverage being 95 per cent. . Most of the community members rely on radio, television and newspapers as the major sources of information.
Water and sewerage
Kakamega Municipality is served by a combination of surface water and ground water systems. River Isiukhu is the main source of water supply in the municipality and its environs. Water is drawn through two intakes, the old one constructed in 1956 and new one in 1992. However, these sources are dilapidated due to old age and lack of proper maintenance. The groundwater system consists of 3 boreholes located within the Municipality.
Sewerage system in Kakamega Municipality needs expansion to meet the current and future sewerage flows. The Municipality has only two sewerage treatment works;
- Shirere Sewerage Treatment Works; serves the town Centre and the adjacent residential areas. However, the treatment works is under rehabilitation which has been delayed for quite some time
- Kambi Somali Treatment Works; serves small residential areas near town.
Due to poor maintenance and delayed rehabilitation of the treatment works, sewerage flows have been diverted to nearest ponds and river courses. The overflows and blockages eventually cause public health hazard to residents of the municipality. In this regard, rehabilitation works is necessary to bring the existing sewerage system to its design capacity need to be put in place.
Power supply
The main source of energy for cooking by households in Kakamega Municipality is firewood, charcoal and gas fuel. Approximately 90% of households in the Municipality are connected to electricity. Major public and private institutions in the municipality are connected to national grid. However, the major challenge is consistent black-outs.
Markets
All the trading centers in Kakamega municipality are agricultural centers. These markets include; Lurambi, Kambisomali and Masingo with all centres having two market days per week.
Housing
Kakamega Municipality has two housing schemes namely; Nabongo and Amalemba which were initiated by Kakamega Municipal Council in the late 1970s under low cost housing for low income earners.
Housing in Kakamega Municipality can be categorized in the following groups.
1. Upmarket estates such as Milimani, characterized good access to sanitation and needs such as water, electricity, good roads and sewerage collection system.
2. Above average estates such as Town Center, Mudiri, Otiende, Amalemba and Shikhambi. Those are estates characterized by secure and clean environment, good sewerage and compost systems within individual compounds
3. Medium and low class housing occupy the biggest share. Such estates include Town Schemes, Lutonyi, Maraba, Lurambi, Maramu, Masingo, Majengo, Makaburini and Rural town. The estates are characterized by facilities sharing, dumping of waste in open areas and congestion.
Housing increments and upgrading in the town is urgently required to improve access to better housing.
Solid Waste management
The municipality through the County Government has provided dust bins and trucks for refuse disposal and collection respectively in designated areas. In some residential areas, compositing is done by digging compost pits within the compound that are either burned or closed up. These areas include Milimani, Otiende, NHC, Mudiri, Amalemba, Lurambi and Kefinco Estates.
General dumping is practiced in many areas especially in back streets, in low income areas and in general open spaces. Plastics are also dumped all over making the sites difficult to clear. The municipality lacks adequate dumping sites for solid waste.
Drainage system
Most residential estates are served by a sewerage system. Other areas mostly non-residential places are served with septic tanks whereas low income/informal settlements are served by pit latrines.
Trade and Tourism
Kakamega Municipality has highly depended on this sector. This sector has a high potential especially with the existence of Kakamega forest and the crying stone which act as the major tourist attraction sites. Kakamega municipality also expects to benefit from hotel industry among other tourism activities. The diverse cultures and heritage among the residents of Kakamega municipality such as bullfighting and Isukuti dance are other forms of tourist attraction.
Social amenities
Social services like schools, hospitals, shops and public transport, are needed at an early stage in the life of new communities.
Disaster and Disaster preparedness.
The major disasters in Kakamega are landslides, conflicts and mystery fires. Cases of school fires have also been reported in the past. To improve on the disaster preparedness action, a disaster is already under construction at Mwauda. The town has ambulances and fire fighting machinery that respond to these disasters as soon as they arise. With the proposed expansion of town there is need to increase the number of disaster management equipment