President Ruto orders priority for 1,500 traders in Kitale — Nation Kenya
Kenyan President William Ruto has ordered that 1,500 entrepreneurs displaced during the reconstruction of the Masinde Muliro market in the city of Kitale be given priority in the allocation of trading spaces. The remaining spaces in the new complex are planned to be allocated by lottery, Nation Kenya reports.
Ruto opened the modernized market on October 16. The complex is designed for 2,980 trading spaces, and its total cost is estimated at approximately 840 million shillings. The president also instructed State Secretary for Housing Charles Hinga to find funds to complete the outstanding work and announced 15 million shillings in assistance for affected traders — 10,000 shillings for each recipient.
Complaints over the allocation of spaces
Some entrepreneurs say the procedure for allocating trading spaces was politicized. Trader Catherine Mbomere, who worked in the area before the old structures were demolished, said entrepreneurs had been promised that they would return after construction was completed. According to her, traders received official letters from the county authorities granting them spaces and now demand an explanation of the criteria for the new allocation.
Solomon Wanyonyi, chairman of the Soko Mjinga wholesale and retail market, said that some traders had worked along the road for more than 15 years but did not receive spaces in the new complex. Representatives of the Trans Nzoia County business community called on the authorities to publish the full list of recipients and the selection criteria. They also requested that reports of the possible sale of some trading spaces be investigated.
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Dispute over funding
The allocation of spaces is taking place amid a dispute between President Ruto and Trans Nzoia County Governor George Natembeya over the market's funding, management, and ownership rights. Natembeya claims that the county administration financed the main part of the construction after inheriting the project from previous governor Patrick Khaemba.
According to available county expenditure data, more than 700 million shillings had been spent on the project by the 2021/2022 financial year. The county also allocated 40 million shillings to complete the market and paid for the electricity connection. At the same time, representatives of the national authorities say that government intervention was crucial to completing the work after the project had been stalled for four years.
Gubernatorial candidate and Kenya's permanent representative to UN-Habitat Susan Nakhumicha said that the county had previously received about 830 million shillings under the World Bank-backed Kenya Urban Support Programme. According to her, after the completion of the programme's first phase, the market was about 95% ready, and the president later promised another 100 million shillings to finish the work.
