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Eldoret municipality is a step away from becoming the fifth Kenyan city after senators supported its elevation pending approval this week.
Senators, while debating the motion to elevate the municipality to city status on Thursday, said there is need to build resilient and sustainable cities that are environmentally clean, green, powered using clean and green energy.
While presenting the report of the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, Richard Onyonka (Kisii) said the municipality of Eldoret had met the requisite requirements for the conferment of a city.
“Eldoret has been in existence since 1953, and is definitely due for an upgrade. Committee was also satisfied with the inspection it carried out. In summary, the committee strongly recommends the conferment of city status to Eldoret municipality,” said Onyonka
Section 5 of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011 outlines the criteria that ought to be met by a municipality to qualify to be upgraded to city Status.
According to the criteria, the municipality should demonstrate that it has a population of at least 250,000 residents, according to the final gazetted results of the last population census carried out by an institution authorized under any written law, preceding the application for grant of city status.
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US Govt Warns Kenyan Police Against Doing the Following
The U.S. government has issued a stern warning to the Kenyan police this afternoon, with a particular focus on their upcoming deployment to Haiti.
Through Ambassador to the United Nations, Thomas Greenfield, on October 10, 2023, the United States government has cautioned the Kenyan police against actions that might infringe upon the human rights of the Haitian citizens.
Furthermore, the government of the United States has emphasized its commitment to closely monitoring the operations of the Kenyan police in Haiti.
Your days are numbered, EACC tells bribe-loving traffic police
Police taking bribes from motorists along major highways have been put on notice with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) announcing a fresh crackdown on corrupt officers.
EACC boss Twalib Mbarak said the move is meant to dismantle corruption cartels within the traffic department at the National Police Service.
“Traffic stops have become unofficial toll stations where police officers openly take bribes. We want the public to help us in the fight against this vice because we cannot do it alone,” he said.
Take up or forfeit your leave days, police officers told
All police officers have been directed to use all their leave days on or before June 30 next year.
The directive follows reports that some government employees, including police officers have been avoiding going on leave to cut deals in public offices when they are supposed to be on a break.
Within the police service, station commanders (OCS) and traffic commanders have been found to constitute the largest number of officers who rarely go on leave.
The police commanders have therefore been directed to review, determine and update the pending leave days for all the officers under their command and then prepare the leave plans.