Homa Bay County Governor Gladys Wanga has launched a bold vision to transform Homa Bay into a top tourist and investment hub, drawing lessons from Cape Town, South Africa.
Speaking on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, in Homa Bay, ahead of the Devolution Conference, Wanga cited the county’s vast untapped potential in tourism, the blue economy, and urbanization.
She pointed out that Homa Bay boasts the longest coastline along Lake Victoria and thus a unique advantage to transform the county by its wide beachfront.
“We are hoping to be the Cape Town of Kenya because we have the longest stretch of Lake Victoria, 80 per cent of Lake Victoria is in Homa Bay County, so we have the longest stretch of the beach,” Wanga explained.
Wanga further said that she was planning to offer the county’s urban landscape a new face and redevelop it in Cape Town’s image. She hopes that within the next decade, Homa Bay will officially be recognized as a city.
“In another 10 years, we hope to be the city we are modelling after Cape Town as a city,” she added.
Governor Wanga also revealed that the county government plans to relocate existing offices currently occupying the lakefront to higher ground. This move will open up prime space along the lakefront for proper hospitality development.
“Along the lakefront, there were government offices – a small office accommodating about 30 people on 7 acres of land, with the rest of the land filled with broken-down vehicles,” Wanga explained.
She further stated that the new Homa Bay County Government Offices will officially open on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, with President William Ruto presiding over the ceremony. The project was one of those intended to clear the lakefront and prepare the area for redevelopment.
“One of the things we have done to clear out the lakefront for hospitality is to build a new County Government Headquarters, and this will be officially opened tomorrow by President William Ruto,” she said.
Wanga also shared that the county is preparing to lease land to investors to encourage the growth of the hospitality sector along the lakefront.
“We are going to offer some of this land as incentives, leasing it to investors who can develop quality facilities. The lakefront will be dedicated to hospitality, and within the next decade, we hope Homa Bay will become a city that mirrors Cape Town,” she added.
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