Everyone claims Nakuru is growing and very fast.A lot of the reasons put forward for this have been largely attributed to the post election violence in 2008 that saw people displaced from towns like Kisumu and Eldoret seek refuge in Nakuru.
A number of reporters have tried to do articles on Nakurus growth and while some have got it right some haven't done their research.Just today morning this article appeared in the business daily-Banks rush to tap Nakuru's robust growth.The writer claims that Eco Bank has opened shop in the last 6 months,yet it has been here for more than a year.The newest banks in Nakuru are Chase Bank,Bank Of Africa,First Community Bank and a newly opened branch of the cooperative Bank that is located on Kenyatta Avenue just next to Tuskys.
The newest entrants in the health sector have been the Karen Outreach Clinic and the Aga Khan University Hospital that has opened up a clinic too on the fourth floor of Riva Business Center.The only hospital that had a clinic in town was the Evans Sunrise Hospital.
With all these growth and opening up of new businesses,Nakuru has been injected with new life.Most of these banks and new businesses are employing young people because these are more willing to relocate .We also have young families who having moved here in the past 5 years when Nakuru's landscape started to change.This has made real estate the most lucrative business for anyone interested in the towns commercial growth.From high rise office buildings to residential properties in Nakuru and its environs,the town is in a battle to find accommodation for its growing population.
Nowhere is this more evident than during peak hours in the morning and in the evening when people are going to work and commuting home in the evening.It is no longer surprising to see people queuing for matatus.We also have mini traffic gridlocks in the town center reminiscent of Nairobi whenever the heavens open.
Rapid growth brings with it undesirable elements like pickpockets ,robberies and burglaries and Nakuru once so peaceful and easy going is seeing a rise in robbery and theft cases.A few years back it was very hard to even find beggars along the town streets but nowadays they are common place along the main avenues.
Hopefully the Nakuru town council is tracking this growth and they arent going to be caught flat footed.It is now that they should be planning on how to harness the growth being exhibited right now to return this "pink town" into its glory days when it was the cleanest town in east and central Africa a few decades back.
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