Eldoret’s recent conferment to city status in August 2024 by President William Ruto brought high expectations for accelerated economic growth and modernized urban management. The Uasin Gishu County administration has been quick to inaugurate the first City Board and establish a service charter outlining explicit timelines for business licensing, urban planning, and municipal services like waste collection. The vision is to build a “Smart, Liveable, and Inclusive” city, with the administration eager to harness investment opportunities, particularly in the sports economy and light manufacturing. However, the transition from a municipality to a fully functioning city is already testing the local government’s capacity to balance administrative efficiency with the turbulent reality of local politics.
The most glaring manifestation of this friction is in the healthcare sector, which has been severely disrupted by persistent labor disputes. By mid-2026, the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) had paralyzed public health services across Uasin Gishu County, including within Eldoret city. The striking nurses and healthcare workers accuse Governor Jonathan Bii’s administration of failing to implement a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that dates back to 2017, delaying promotions, and failing to convert Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff to permanent and pensionable terms. The situation has grown so severe that nurses have frequently marched through the streets of Eldoret and staged sit-ins at the county headquarters, demanding that the administration prioritize their welfare over political posturing.
The crisis in Eldoret perfectly illustrates the devolution dilemma: while the county leadership attempts to rebrand the city and attract investment, essential service delivery is held hostage by unresolved, highly politicized administrative failures. Residents and union officials have publicly accused some county executives of focusing more on their 2027 political ambitions than on resolving the crippling strikes. When a newly minted city cannot keep its hospital doors open because funds and attention are diverted by political wrangling, the promise of elevated urban status rings hollow. For Eldoret to truly thrive as a regional metropolis, the county administration must prove it can insulate its municipal and healthcare services from the constant disruptions of Kenya’s election cycle.
References:
The Standard Nurses strike paralyses healthcare services in Rift Valley counties
The Star Uasin Gishu nurses down tools over pay dispute
