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Governor Gladys Wanga signed into law the municipality charter bill on Monday morning, officially upgrading four townships into municipalities. The bill, which had been in the works for several months, received overwhelming support from the town residents, the county assembly among stakeholders.

The four municipalities including; Mbita, Ndhiwa, Kendu Bay and Oyugis which were previously township areas, will now have access to a range of services provided in urban set ups, including waste management, road maintenance, among several amenities.

“This is a historic day for our county,” said Governor Wanga at the signing ceremony. “These four municipalities will now have the resources and support they need to thrive and grow, and I’m proud to be a part of making that happen.”

The county boss said the delineation process had gone through thorough public participation in coordination with the county assembly among key stakeholders.

“This has been a long and tedious process and we urge the residents of these four municipalities to embrace the urban status because it will lead attract development not only from the county resources, but from development partners.” She said.

Wanga announced that her administration would also constitute a municipal board headed by a municipal manager and encouraged qualified persons to apply for these positions.

 “Homa Bay is now well positioned to play in the league of other counties as far as attracting development partner support for these new municipalities that will now achieve an urban status,” Wanga said.

The addition of the four municipalities is expected to bring in a significant amount of revenue for the county, as well as create new job opportunities.

The signing of the municipality bill is being hailed as a major victory for the residents of the new urban areas, who have long advocated for greater representation and resources.