UN-Habitat and Kenya’s Homa Bay County sign collaboration agreement

Nairobi, 24 August 2023-- UN-Habitat the County Government of Homa Bay recently signed an Agreed Action Plan to collaborate on supporting sustainable urban development in the devolved unit pursuant to the Kenya Habitat Country Programme Document (HCPD 2023-2027).

The intended collaboration will enable the county to leverage the necessary expertise, experience, and networks of UN-Habitat towards the implementation of its County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP 2023-2027). UN-Habitat Regional Office for Africa Director, Oumar Sylla, and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga penned the agreement.

In his speech, Sylla remarked, “This collaboration between UN-Habitat and Homa Bay County focuses on solid waste management, optimisation of Own Source Revenue, and planning and development of the Homa Bay Lakefront with the aim to promoting sustainable urban development and better service delivery in the county.”

On her part Governor Wanga acknowledged the action plan, saying: “We take note of our responsibilities as a County, and thank UN-Habitat for providing focal points with whom we can engage directly during the implementation of the ‘Agreed Action Plan’.”

Under the collaboration, UN-Habitat intends to provide technical and financial support to complement Homa Bay's efforts of implementing the Homa Bay Solid Waste Management (SWM), Municipal Finance and Own Source Revenue, and Planning and Development of the area around the Homa Bay Lakefront.

UN-Habitat, through its Urban Basic Service Section, intends to support the County Government with a Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) audit that establishes the status of waste management in key urban areas of the county namely Homa Bay, Oyugis, and Mbita Municipalities.

As part of the collaboration, UN-Habitat will also provide technical assistance to build the capacity of the county to optimise its Own Source Revenue (OSR). OSR relates to a municipality’s revenue streams that finance local government activities and through OSR optimization, Homa Bay can quantify revenue leakages and strengthen its revenue systems.

Further, UN-Habitat will support the county government with technical expertise on the Homa Bay Lakefront planning and development including the preparation of a masterplan, design concepts and governance frameworks. This aligns with the ongoing, Kisumu Lakefront Development project spearheaded by the Cities Investment Facility’s partners, Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC) and Gensler, which aims to commercially develop the waterfront property of Lake Victoria in its five bordering counties including Homa Bay.

To consolidate the envisaged collaboration and for sustainability, Homa Bay County is expected to provide political leadership and direction, avail technical and administrative staff to provide relevant input, identify and provide physical space for Homa Bay Lakefront activities, mobilize community stakeholders, and ensure that the County annual budgetary provisions complement the UN-Habitat activities.

This collaboration will enable Homa Bay County to leverage the necessary expertise, experience, and networks of UN-Habitat towards the implementation of its County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP 2023-2027).