The County Government of Kakamega will remove roadside traders along major black spots to avoid deaths through road accidents.

According to the county’s deputy governor Ayub Savula,  the county government is planning to construct stalls around all market centres for the affected traders.

“Following the Londiani accident that claimed 55 people, most of them traders, we have decided that we are going remove all traders. We want you the market committees to help us identify land for construction of stalls where the government has no land,” he said while addressing the chairpersons of the market committee in the county led by Stick Masafu.

Savula confirmed that already 9 million shillings has been set aside for the project. He also pleaded to the Kenya National Highway Authority (KenHA) to redesign the section of the Eldoret-Webuye- Malaba road between Turbo and Malaba to a dual carriageway to reduce road accidents.

In addition, the deputy governor said that hospitals will be constructed in all areas with large populations to deal with surging emergencies in those areas. The affected market centers include Kambi ya Mwanza, Sigalagala, Matete and Kipkaren.

The Matete hospital is among the hospitals that will be upgraded counter emergencies along the Eldoret-Webuye highway. It’s now a level 4 hospital.

Masafu said that traders concerned are still overlooked because they are often not involved in decision making yet they are still the major stakeholders.

“The so called public participation is a mockery because people are ferried from elsewhere to meetings to endorse development of the facilities and we traders who are beneficiaries are ignored,” he said.

He added traders account for over 80% of revenue collected locally by county government and should be given priority in every decision making.