President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday signed three bills into law.
The bills are Energy Bill 2017, Petroleum Bill 2017 and Urban Areas and Cities (Amendment) Bill 2017.
The head of state, who is completing his second and final term in office, hailed the Senate for speedy passing of the laws.
In reference to the Urban bill, Uhuru noted that the laws will enable the county governments to deliver their services effectively and efficiently.
The law advocates for the reduction of city dwellers from 500,000 to 250,000 people.
The new law allows the county government to declare an area a municipality if it has a population of at least 50,000 residents.
On the energy bill, there will be the establishment of national energy entities tasked with the management and regulation of energy resources. The 2017 Petroleum Bill outlines the process of contraction and production of petroleum.
“Today I signed into law 3 Bills; the Urban Areas and Cities (Amendment) Bill 2017, Petroleum Bill 2017 and Energy Bill 2017. I commend our Parliament for acting with speed in passing laws which are intended to accelerate the efficient and quality service delivery to wananchi,” he said.
The move comes at a time when a referendum is looming amid Uhuru’s succession debate.