Economy

Joho plans satellite town to decongest Mombasa

joho

Mr Hassan Joho, the Mombasa governor elect. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Building a satellite town in the outskirts of Mombasa will be one of key projects Governor elect Ali Hassan Joho will prioritise in his second term.

This is according to a top aide, County Secretary Francis Thoya, who says construction of the infrastructure north of the island at Mwakirunge will help decongest the tourist hub.

Building of satellite towns, contained in the county's vision 2035 blue print, is expect to involve private sector players.

“At the moment the town is choked to the level that there is no space even to expand our roads. The only solution is to set up infrastructure at Mwakirunge and invite the private sector to build facilities,” Mr Thoya said yesterday.

According to the plan, the project would involve building 30,000 residential houses to address Mombasa's housing deficit.

Reshuffle

Mr Thoya also hinted at major changes in Mr Joho's cabinet amid criticism that the devolved unit had not done enough to tackle a mounting garbage crisis.

The thorny issue remained unresolved through his first term and was used by his political opponents to discredit his administration.

“What I can tell you is that the governor is keen on service delivery,” he said.

Mr Joho will be sworn in tomorrow at Mama Ngina Drive gardens in a ceremony his administration said would be brief.

The county says the event's budget had been slashed from Sh10 million to Sh2 million.

READ: Joho slashes swearing-in budget by 80pc

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