Ol’Kalou Municipality is the County headquarters of Nyandarua County. The town started as a railway post on the Gilgil-Nyahururu line when rail line reached Ol’Kalou in 1905. The railway opened up the hinterlands for European settlers who moved to Nyandarua County to establish large farms for rearing livestock mainly cattle and sheep, and growing of cash crops like wheat, barley, pyrethrum and potatoes.

On the onset of independence in 1963, Nyandarua was one of the earmarked districts where African settlement schemes were set up. This involved buying of the former European farms by the Government, land-buying companies, and societies to settle the Africans who had been displaced from their ancestral land mainly in the former Central Province during the colonial period.

The Constitution 2010, ushered a new paradigm shift in governance by the creation of 47 County Governments. Before the 2010 Constitution, Ol’Kalou was a Town Council. With the creation of Nyandarua County, the town was gazette as the headquarters of the County.  This was later followed by enactment of Urban Areas and Cities, 2011 (amended in 2019), which elevated all County headquarters to Municipalities hence making Ol’Kalou town a municipality.

Ol’Kalou town a municipality.

Various projects have been undertaken covering the following sectors: urban planning & development, urban infrastructure improvement, local economy promotion, improvement of roads and transport systems, water and sanitation, waste management and environment, recreation and social facilities, disaster risk management and administration and human resource management.

Functions Of The Municipality

The Municipality of Ol’Kalou shall, within the boundaries of the Municipality, perform the following functions:

1. 1. Promotion, regulation and provision of refuse collection and solid waste management services;

• 2. Promotion and provision of water and sanitation services and infrastructure (in areas within the Municipality not served by the Water and Sanitation Provider);
• 3. Construction and maintenance of urban roads and associated infrastructure;
• 4. Construction and maintenance of storm drainage and flood controls;
• 5. Construction and maintenance of walkways and other non-motorized transport infrastructure;
• 6. Construction and maintenance of recreational parks and green spaces;
• 7. Construction and maintenance of street lighting;
• 8. Construction, maintenance and regulation of traffic controls and parking facilities;
• 9. Construction and maintenance of bus stands and taxi stands;
• 10. Regulation of outdoor advertising;
• 11. Construction, maintenance and regulation of municipal markets and abattoirs;
• 12. Construction and maintenance of fire stations; provision of fire-fighting services, emergency preparedness and disaster management;
• 13. Promotion, regulation and provision of municipal sports and cultural activities;
• 14. Promotion, regulation and provision of animal control and welfare;
• 15. Development and enforcement of municipal plans and development controls;
• 16. Municipal administration services (including construction and maintenance of administrative offices);
• 17. Promoting and undertaking infrastructural development and services within municipality;
• 18. Any other functions as may be delegated by the County Executive Committee Member and provided in the Urban Areas and Cities Act, 2011 and the Urban Areas and Cities (Amendment), Act 2019

Functions Of The Municipal Board

The Board of the Municipality shall perform the following functions:

• 1. Oversee the affairs of the Municipality;
• 2. Develop or adopt policies, plans, strategies and programmes and set targets for service delivery;
• 3. Formulate and implement an integrated development plan;
• 4. Control land, land sub-division, land development and zoning by public and private sectors for any purpose, including industry, commerce, markets, shopping and other employment centres, residential areas, recreational areas, parks, entertainment, passenger transport, agriculture, and freight and transit stations within the framework of the spatial and master plans for the Municipality as delegated by the County Government of Nyandarua;
• 5. Promoting and undertaking infrastructural development and services within Municipality as delegated by the County Government of Nyandarua;
• 6. Developing and managing schemes, including site development in collaboration with the relevant national and county agencies;
• 7. Maintaining a comprehensive database and information system of the administration;
• 8. Administering and regulating its internal affairs;
• 9. Implementing applicable national and county legislation;
• 10. Entering into contracts, partnerships or joint ventures as it may consider necessary for the discharge of its functions;
• 11. Monitoring and, where appropriate, regulating municipal services where those services are provided by service providers other than the Board of the Municipality;
• 12. Preparing and submitting its annual budget estimates to the relevant County Treasury for consideration and submission to the County Assembly for approval as part of the annual County Appropriation Bill;
• 13. Collecting rates, taxes levies, duties, fees and surcharges on fees as delegated by the County Government of Nyandarua;
• 14. Settling and implementing tariff, rates and tax and debt collection policies as delegated by the County Government of Nyandarua;
• 15. Monitoring the impact and effectiveness of any services, policies, programs or plans;
• 16. Establishing, implementing and monitoring performance management systems;
• 17. Promoting a safe and healthy environment;
• 18. Facilitating and regulating public transport
• 19. Performing such other functions as delegated by the County Government of Nyandarua;

To provide affordable, accessible high-quality municipal services, with a responsive local governance. This will be done by ensuring the residents have the opportunity to contribute to municipality development.

“A dynamic trend setting municipality, delivering high quality services responsive to the challenges and demands of the residents.”

 OL KALOU MUNICIPALITY CHARTER

 OL KALOU MUNICIPALITY CHARTER 

 OL KALOU MUNICIPALITY STRATEGIC URBAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2023 -2032