The role of economic factors in the evolution and development of Eldoret Town, Kenya, 1903 - 2003

Abstract

This study set out to examine the role of economic factors in the evolution and development of Eldoret town from 1903 to 2003. The main focus of the study was to analyse the role of economic factors responsible for the emergence and development of Eldoret town during the colonial and the post-colonial period. With continued agglomeration in Eldoret town, an urgent need arises to scrutinize the role of economic factors responsible for its evolution so as to deepen the understanding of how to approach the numerous existing and emerging challenges. This research was guided by five objectives namely: to trace the evolution of Eldoret town up to 1912; to analyze the economic advancements in Eldoret during World War I up to the onset of the Great Depression; to investigate the economic transformation of Eldoret during the Great Depression up to the end of World War II; to assess the economic progress of Eldoret in the post-World War II period up to independence; and to examine economic drivers for change in Eldoret’s post-independence era. To achieve these objectives, two theoretical postulates were employed namely: The ‘colonial city’ paradigm and the modernization theory. The research was informed by both primary and secondary sources. Archival material and oral interviews constituted the core primary sources. In particular, colonial administrative reports, Uasin Gishu District Annual Reports, colonial and post-colonial photo collections, Eldoret’s post-colonial investment manuals, newspaper cuttings and development reports were collected and analyzed. Secondary sources also helped to contextualize and deepen the understanding of respective global historical milestones. The sources included books, journal articles, dissertations, and unpublished documents. The oral informants’ accounts provided critical information about the economic transformation of Eldoret town. The target population was the four hundred thousand inhabitants of Eldoret town from which a sample population of thirty persons with vast knowledge of the town’s history was chosen using purposive and snowballing technique. Data was analyzed using qualitative method. It was compiled thematically and reported chronologically in descriptive texts and direct quotations. The study established that the evolution of Eldoret town can be attributed to Sir Charles Eliot’s invitation of settlers into the East African Protectorate. The settlers were induced by the news concerning much game and shooting at lions, camel, rhinoceros, and every kind of game. Cheap fertile land which supported settler farming was the prime reason for Eldoret’s emergence. The settlers’ agricultural activities triggered the development of banking, transport (road, rail, and air), trade, education, water, and housing that significantly influenced the evolution and development of Eldoret town. The study further established that the sequence of events occasioned by the Great Depression of the 1930s necessitated state protection of settler estate production in a bid to rescue it from the brink of collapse thus securing Eldoret’s positive economic trajectory. Finally, the research established that there were intensified economic activities in the colony arising from the need to meet war demands during World War II that further boosted the transformation of Eldoret town. In the post-independence period, Eldoret’s economic drivers for change included: industrialization, transport, agriculture, housing, hospitality, the informal sector, and sports. The study concluded that agriculture played a pivotal role in Eldoret’s emergence and development. Other factors such as transport, trade, education, water, housing, informal sector, among others were peripheral to it. The research recommended that the contribution of political and social factors, and the extent to which the Kakamega gold mining contributed to the evolution of Eldoret town, should elicit further research.