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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journal articles, dissertations, and unpublished documents.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. |
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