| | | | |
Introduction
Homa Bay, together with Bukoba (Tanzania) and Entebbe (Uganda) were inducted into the initiative at a workshop held in Kampala in May, 2005 to introduce the three cities to the CDS process.
A second workshop was held in Entebbe in July 2005 for the six Lake Victoria CDS cities - Bukoba and Musoma (Tanzania), Entebbe and Kampala (Uganda), and Homa Bay and Kisumu (Kenya)- to build the capacities of the participating cities by training of trainers in the CDS process.
Homa Bay CDS Process
 | | As part of the ongoing activities in the CDS process, the Homa Bay Town Council has prepared a preliminary profile of the town. The council has sent out a detailed questionnaire to the 6 wards that comprise the town. The results of the questionnaire have been collected and collated and will be used as the basis for preparing a city environmental profile. The town is in the process of organizing a city consultation. |
Homa Bay Town Profile
Vision
A working and developing city.
Mission
To be the best service provider by being effective and efficient in revenue collection and delivery of services.
Location
Homa Bay Town is located along the north-eastern part of Lake Victoria. It borders the Homa bay, from which the town derives its name. Homa-Bay Town is located 105 kilometers south of Kisumu City and 405 kilometers southwest of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya.
Altitude & Area
The town lies at an altitude of approximately 4,000 feet (1,330 meters) above see level. It covers an area of 197 square kilometers of which half is inside Lake Victoria.
Population
Homa Bay Municipal population is 85,000 (1999 census) of which 51% are female and 49% male.
Climate
Homa Bay's climatic conditions is semi-arid and it has two rainy seasons. The long rains falls between March and May while short rains fall between September and November with approximately measurements of 1,180 millimeters. The daily temperature ranges between 26 and 28 degrees centigrade.
Transport Network
Homa Bay town is accessible by road through Kisumu to Nairobi and Kisumu to Kampala through Jinja, on the northern-eastern part of the Town. On the south-eastern side it is accessible by road through Kisii to Nairobi and through Migori Sirare and Mwanza. It is also accessible by lake through Mbita Point, Musoma, Bukoba and Jinja. Homa Bay town has an air strip located 5 kilometers away from the town center which is occasionally used by light planes. Railway connection from the town is through Kisumu by steamer or road.
Administrative Structure
Composition of the Council
Homa Bay Municipal council is divided into 6 wards, with each ward represented by an elected councillor. The Minister for Local Government has nominated 2 councillors and a Public Officer to represent political parties and the government. Out of the 9 councillors in the Homa Bay Council, 2 are women. The civic wing is headed by a non-executive mayor assisted by a deputy.
Council Committees
The civic body is divided into 4 committees each headed by a committee chairman. The
committees are as follows:
• Finance, staff, and general purposes committee
• Works, town planning, and markets committee
• Public health & environment committee
• Education & social services committee
Activities undertaken by Homa Bay Municipal
The core function of local authorities is to deliver services to the people of which Homa Bay municipality provides the following:
• Refuse collection and disposal.
• Provision and maintenance of markets.
• Provisions of sewer network and maintenance.
• Provision of cemetery services.
• Provision and maintenance of bus park .
• Provision and maintenance of roads.
• Provision and maintenance of slaughter services.
• Provision and maintenance of nursery schools, teaching and support staff.
• Provision and maintenance of streetlights.
• Provision and maintenance of stadium.
• Provision and maintenance of car wash.
• Provision and maintenance of recreation park .
To meet all the above needs the council has mobilized internal and external resources within the existing regulating framework.
Socio-Economic Profile
The major activities in the municipality are:
Employment of skilled and unskilled workers. Trading and wholesale, retail, hawking, micro-enterprise, touting, non-motorized transport business, motor boat, taxi buses, and minibus transport. Fishing and fish mongering. Industrial business, fish processing and by products factory; maize, sorghum, ground nut, millet and potato growing. Education
Homa Bay Municipal council, has both public and private primary and secondary schools.
• 2 youth polytechnics
• 1 farmers training center
• 1 medical training center
Health
Homa Bay has one public hospital which is the district hospital, private hospitals and dispensaries. There are several public and private Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) centers dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Land Development
The land uses which are taken into account for suitability classification are housing, crop cultivation and forestry.
