Figure 2-9 – Bungoma Municipality’s infrastructure overview

Figure 2-9 – Bungoma Municipality’s infrastructure overview

Source: Atkins, 2022

Transport

> Less than 10% of the road network is paved; > Poor road conditions reduce accessibility, increasing the cost of transport and hinder productivity; > The network is characterized by one-lane roads; > Wider roads often get filled up by pedestrians, vendors and parked vehicles; > Circumferential transport links from the key radial roads are missing or are made of earth; > Earth roads are difficult to navigate during the rainy season which hinders the transportation of agricultural produce and reduces access to services and markets; and > Other modes such as rail and air transportation are largely underutilized.

Water, wastewater and drainage

> Even with optimal water supply from NZOWASCO there would be excess demand for water; > A small share of Bungoma Township households are connected to a sewer network; > A very small share of Bungoma's population has access to drinking water; > High electricity costs reduce the treatment capacity of the County; > Rural areas do not receive treated water, instead there are strategically located water kiosks; > Only 15% of Bungoma Municipality is connected to a sewerage line; > Drainage within Bungoma Township is aided by its topography which slopes downwards; > Bungoma has not suffered from historically significant flood events, but localised flooding is still an issue; > High pollution levels in water; and > The lack of a solid waste management strategy has increased the strain on the drainage infrastructure. Solid waste management

> The majority of solid waste is burnt, buried or dumped, including medical waste and industrial waste and dumped in rivers; > Litter is a problem in the markets, bus parks, and residential areas; > Uncontrolled management has negative impacts for human health and the environment; > There are not enough collection points and the ones that exist are poorly maintained; > There is not enough revenue generated by the Municipality to provide a full solid waste collection service; and > There is no segregation of solid waste into organic, recyclable and non-recyclable streams.

Energy

> Almost every business interviewed in the business consultations reported that lack of a reliable energy supply as a key issue for their business and that the cost of electricity is too high; > Connectivity to the KPLC power network is below the national average. There is a significant need for a last-mile connectivity programme to connect rural areas; > Demand for electricity is outstripping supply, planned development and population growth will increase pressures on the already stretched energy infrastructure with demand predicted to significantly increase by 2030; > For cooking, people predominantly still use firewood, charcoal and paraffin; > Bungoma County has excellent resources for generating power from hydro and solar. There are numerous hydropower projects in development, but a significant project has yet to completed; and > There is currently a significant lack of cold storage and available machinery to boost the economy.

2.5 Environment and

Climate Risk Profile

Bungoma County lies within the Lake Victoria basin, located within western Kenya. It covers a total area of 3,032.4 km2, which constitutes 0.52% of Kenya’s total land area. The topography of the County is influenced by its presence within the Lake Victoria basin and Mt Elgon at its northern axis. The altitude of the County ranges from 4,316 m above sea level (Mt Elgon) to 1,200 m above sea level. The topography within 3 km of Bungoma contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 111 m and an average elevation above sea level of 1,422 m17. The topography of the County largely influences the drainage patterns with rivers and water bodies largely originating from Mt Elgon and the Cherangany Hills.

The County has four distinct ecological zones with favourable climate conditions making it one of the most important crop zones in Kenya. Furthermore, Bungoma has one of the most fertile and richest soils (soils laced with organic matter which retains water and provides the nutrients needed by crops) in Kenya which is very suitable for agriculture18 .

There are a number of conservation areas and biodiversity hotspots in the County namely the Mt Elgon National Reserve, Chetambe Hills, San’galo and Kabuchai Hills and a number of wetlands found in Sio, Sinoko wards and Matulo. The terrestrial fauna within Bungoma County’s forest reserves include a diverse variety of species of birds, antelopes, elephants, buffalos, hippopotamus, snakes, monkeys, guinea fowl, quail birds, rabbits, insects, hares and gazelles. The main environmental challenges include deforestation of forests in the Mt Elgon region, forest depletion due to mismanagement and unsustainable practices, encroachment of natural resources due to urban expansion and increased populations, overgrazing, human and wildlife conflicts and loss of wetlands. However, the rich and fertile soils, favourable climate conditions, abundant sources of water, vast forests and scenic landscape provide opportunities for economic growth if sustainably managed.

Bungoma County experiences a hot climate with monthly temperatures ranging from 15 to 29°C. The average annual precipitation is between 1,100 mm and 1,700 mm, with most of Bungoma County receiving an annual average precipitation of over 1,400 mm. There are two rainy seasons: the long season runs between February and June and is the wetter of the two; the second falls between late July and December. Flooding during the rainy seasons is not uncommon: perennial run-off can make roads impassable and excessive soil erosion can leave agricultural land unproductive19. A dry season with precipitation less than 80 mm is experienced from December to February. The eastern part of the County is the driest, receiving less than 1,000 mm of precipitation each year20 .

Mean annual temperatures have also been increasing since 1985, with night-time temperatures increasing at a faster rate, resulting in an increasingly smaller diurnal temperature range; this trend is set to continue. The total number of hot days with a maximum temperature greater than or equal to 35°C is expected to increase drastically under the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP 8.5) scenario in the southern region of the County, indicating that extreme heat could last for up to three weeks. Climate trends over the last 60 years indicate an increase in the frequency of flooding caused by extreme rainfall events, and droughts21 .

17 Weather Sparks, Average Weather in Bungoma (2021) Available at: https://weatherspark. com/y/98119/Average-Weather-in-Bungoma-Kenya-Year-Round, (Accessed: 11/11/2021). 18 Bungoma County, CSP, (2018). 19 Nailanya et al. (2020) Trends and Patterns of Climate Change and Variability Experienced in Bungoma County, Kenya. International Journal of Scientific Research and Innovative

Technology, 7 (10), p19-36. 20 MoALFC. (2021). Climate Risk Profile for Bungoma County. Kenya County Climate

Risk Profile Series. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Co-operatives (MoALFC), Nairobi, Kenya. 21 IPCC (2014) Climate change: The IPCC scientific assessment. Mass, Cambridge. The main climate risks include increased temperatures, water scarcity, changes to rainfall patterns and an increase in extreme weather events. These are all likely to have severe impacts for Bungoma, including food and water insecurity, reduced agricultural productivity and displacement of populations.

There is an opportunity in Bungoma to work with the natural assets of the County in order to both increase resilience to these climate risks, as well as to enhance biodiversity, and improve leisure, recreational activities and the tourism offering. Poor and marginalised groups tend to be disproportionately vulnerable to climate risks, as outlined in section 1.5, due to a reliance on natural resources for livelihoods, housing which is more likely to be in areas at risk of flooding, and other climate hazards, and a lack of access to social and financial resources.

Without explicitly considering the climate risk faced by these groups, economic growth and poverty reduction initiatives that target these groups may be undermined. Equally, if climate adaptation and resilience programmes do not explicitly include and consider marginalised communities, they risk reinforcing existing inequalities.

2.6 Diagnostics Conclusion:

Barriers and Drivers for Growth

To promote diverse economic development within an attractive investment and business environment, Bungoma Municipality will need to focus on its key economic sectors and the competitive advantages that can support growth within the Municipality, and throughout the County. The economic profile supported by business consultations includes the following:

> Agriculture, livestock and agri-processing: reflects and builds upon the largest economic sector, recognising the local population largely rely on this sector as the main economic subsistence activity; and > Market, trade and services: capitalises on Bungoma’s strategic location along the A8 and the role Bungoma plays in facilitating local commerce and trade.

2.6.1 Barriers for Growth

The diagnostics analysis demonstrated that there are many common challenges to growth, which are shared by all sectors in Bungoma, as presented below. These also reflect the strong influence of national and international trends on local economies within Kenya:

> There is a real lack of upstream capacity for all the

VCs where small scale, fragmented, low-skill farming dominates the activity. There is limited, if any, access to the required level of support: the majority of Bungoma’s cooperatives are not functioning as they should and there are insufficient extension services available to farmers.

Although the County has existing infrastructure in place to support both of the final two VCs, there is limited private sector presence with the capacity to take on these VCs.

There will be a need for significant efforts to be made to support the supply chains and build capacity for these VCs. > Almost all of the businesses consulted reported that they have great difficulty in accessing finance and loans to help their business grow. This prevents Bungoma’s businesses from accessing the equipment and factors of production needed to expand. There are a number of factors that prevent smaller businesses from accessing finance, the main one being insufficient collateral. There are low rates of land ownership in Bungoma, where many residents settled there without acquiring proper rights to their land, this prevents these residents from accessing the collateral they need for a loan. > Current infrastructure cannot keep up with the existing and predicted population growth and in-migration into Bungoma Town. The Town is already experiencing pressure on its infrastructure, services and utilities. The lack of planned development, insufficient resources, and lack of land available for development is spiralling into uncontrolled urban sprawl. To adequately house and service Bungoma Municipality’s growing population and support development of its key sectors, the Municipality will need to upgrade existing infrastructure and commit to new infrastructure projects to support economic

growth and development. Critical for the development of the economy will be the improvement of the infrastructure within and outside of the town, particularly in areas affecting production, such as energy infrastructure, water infrastructure, and irrigation for agriculture. > There is a real lack of adequate and affordable housing in Bungoma, and existing housing stock is falling into disrepair. There are also a number of informal settlements around Bungoma Township that lack any form of planning and are normally under-serviced by utilities and have low levels of sanitation. > There is insufficient land for development which results in encroachment onto environmentally-sensitive areas, building on flood plains or unsuitable land, activities spilling onto streets and roads, and congestion.

Restricting development across environmentally-sensitive areas is needed, together with compact development to ensure urban sprawl is mitigated over agricultural land and to accommodate the growing population and demand for services. This should be accompanied by legally-adopted land use plans, urban land management, and strict enforcement. > Bungoma faces competition from its surrounding economies. Despite its strengths as a sugar producer, one of the key reasons for the sector’s decline was competing sugar factories in the Lake Region. The nearby towns in the Lake Region also offer employment opportunities for higher-skilled labour, there are high levels of out-migration of youths from Bungoma to these neighbouring towns.

Bungoma also faces competition from Uganda’s cheaper goods. It is often cheaper for Bungoma’s residents and businesses to travel over the border to Uganda to purchase goods than it is to buy them in Bungoma. > The COVID-19 pandemic has hit, and still is hitting,

Bungoma’s population and business environment hard and a full recovery to the economy may take a long time.

Drivers for Growth

In addition to the outlined barriers for growth, the SWOT analysis process undertaken for the Diagnostics Report highlighted a number of recurring opportunities for economic growth in Bungoma. These shared drivers for growth are summarised below:

> Bungoma has a strong strategic location, where it not only sits at the border of Uganda, but also is intersected by and has access to the A8. The Kenya-Uganda railway also passes through Bungoma Town and is largely used for transit freight movement. As a result of this strategic location, Bungoma receives high levels of passing trade from the logistics and trade sector. > Adopting polycentric development within the County and providing specialised functions for each urban centre would help to balance development between the various centres rather than allowing them to compete for investment and resources. It would help to build urban/rural linkages and enable a more integrated, greener and inclusive development across the County. Bungoma County already acts as a network of urban centres and has a polycentric economy - Bungoma Municipality as an administrative, knowledge and education centre; Webuye as an industrial centre, due to existing industries and specialism in sugar production; Kimilili as an administrative and commercial hub; and Lwakhakha and Malaba as important trade and logistics hubs on the border with Uganda. > There are a number of opportunities for private sector players to come in and take over already developed infrastructure such as factory shells or equipment that is not in use. The main barrier here is the lack of capacity upstream, and the problematic PPP system in Bungoma. > Good skill pool - Bungoma’s diverse economy is accompanied by a skilled labour force; the employment opportunities advertised by the County attract commuters and students with a range of specialisms. Bungoma is a medium-sized economy in the Kenyan and regional (LREB) context and is surrounded by multiple other key larger economic centres in the County, the LREB, outside the

LREB and in Uganda, and it has access to these towns’ amenities, services, markets, and labour pools. There is also relatively good access to tertiary education in the County with a range of institutions that serve both young adults and the older population > Diverse economy - the County has climate and soil conditions that are conducive to high productivity agricultural activity. Agriculture and livestock are the mainstays of the County’s economy, however, there are a number of other activities that support the livelihoods of

Bungoma’s residents. The County also has a significant hospitality and tourism sector that is driven by international and local visitors who travel there for a number of reasons, including Bungoma’s beautiful natural environment, its activities, events and diverse culture. Bungoma’s strategic location also means it provides a crucial role for the logistics sector of Uganda and Kenya, providing a place for drivers to rest and access key services such as fuel, repairs and hospitality. The high footfall and high agricultural productivity make Bungoma an attractive place to start a commercial business or trade within their markets. Trade and commerce are two of the most important activities for Bungoma’s more urban areas. This diverse economy provides some economic resilience for

Bungoma’s residents if a sector is hit by a shock or a stress. > The Western Region’s agricultural sector will be one of the more resilient areas in Kenya to climate change impacts, given this, Bungoma will play an increasingly important role in meeting the growing demand for food in Kenya.

3. Development

Concept

The UEP Development Concept is the broad framework that integrates climate-resilient, sustainable and inclusive urban development, infrastructure proposals and Value Chain (VC) projects for Bungoma and thereby; structures, prioritises, and phases urban development coherently with respect to the three focus areas for development and investment.

The Development Concept is informed by, and will be an accompaniment to, the main forward planning documents steering development across Bungoma, which are the CIDP, the LUDP, and the CSP.

The model for development in Bungoma is founded on the UEP principles set out in Section 1 and has been developed in collaboration with Bungoma’s stakeholders. It aims to strengthen the town’s economic position based on its competitive and comparative advantages whilst taking a citizen-centred approach to green growth and sustainable investment.