Bondo and Ugunja towns’ journey to municipalities received a major boost on Wednesday, March 8 after Governor James Orengo assented to their charters.

The signed municipality charter which is in line with the Urban Areas and Cities Act requires towns to have municipality offices before eyeing city status.

Orengo said the charters will now be published in the Kenya Gazette before the selection of the committees that would run the affairs of the municipalities.

The governor noted that the upgrade of the two towns will now see Siaya having three municipalities.

The two towns’ population stood at about 60,000 according to the 2009 census.

Besides population size, for an urban area to be classified as a municipality, it should demonstrate the capacity to generate sufficient revenue to sustain its operations and have key infrastructures.

Already, Orengo has stepped up an ambitious push to ensure Bondo and Ugunja towns matches municipality status.

The signed municipality charter is in line with the Urban Areas and Cities Act, which requires towns to have municipality offices before eyeing city status.

Under the charter, a board will be established to run the two towns, ensuring services are provided to the residents, as well as following up on implementation and compliance policies set out by both national and county governments.

The board will also ensure the participation of residents in decision-making as well as in the town’s activities and programs.

Moreso, it will set up infrastructural facilities such as roads, street lighting, markets, and fire stations, and an adequate capacity for disaster management.

According to Orengo, the charter would clearly spell out the composition of the nine-member board.

“In the board, we will have the manager doing delegated functions of county executives and departments which will be key in discharging their mandates through solid waste management, traffic and planning, and collection of fees among other functions,” he stated.

The county boss also pointed out that they were going to hold meetings in the respective sub-counties to establish a board that would craft viable plans and attract more investors, leading to transformation in the regions.

The county is expected to gazette the charter this week in order to give room for the creation of the board.

“We are going to recruit the municipality boards and their chairs,” Orengo said adding that the upgrade of the towns is a milestone and would transform the environment for development and uplift the communities that live in the two towns.

The plan to elevate the towns was mooted in 2015 when the Siaya Ex-Governor Cornel Rasanga formed an Ad hoc Committee that visited towns, and markets that certified that the towns met the criteria for municipalities.

“The two towns are growing at a very high rate and hence meet the upgrade status. It will not only benefit the Communities but attract the investors,” he added.

Orengo was flanked by County Executives led by Lands CECM Maurice Orege who lauded the Assembly for approving the municipality charters.