Informal Sector Activities and Urban Environmental Problems: A Case Study of Kericho Town, Kenya

ABSTRACT The study investigated the informal sector activities and urban environment problems of Kericho Town. Informal sector activities were a non convectional way of conducting business in an area. It was observed that the informal sector activities had some significant challenges to the urban environment of Kericho Town. The study was carried out in the months of May to June 2010. The instruments used to carry out the investigations were questionnaires. interviews and observation. The selected target populations were the individuals in the informal sector, local authority management. Non-governmental Organization and the “Maendeleo Ya Wanawake” Organization, a Community Based Organization. The data was analyzed using statistical methods and presented in the tables. The respondents were 40 in number and they were sampled randomly from the different areas. The study established many types of informal sector activities in Kericho Town among them included: hawking, carpentry, food vending, metal welding just to mention but a few. Among the challenges the informal sector activities posed to urban environment in Kericho Town, the study identified many which included congestion, environmental degradation, improper solid waste dumping poor hygiene, poor location of the informal sector activities, and others. On the side of the solutions, the study found a strategic plan that brought all stakeholders on board.