Cabinet Secretary Hosts Mombasa County Governor, H.E. Hassan Ali Joho And Kilifi County Governor, H.E. Amason Jeffah Kingi, Egh
Cabinet Secretary for Tourism & Wildlife, Hon. Najib Balala, EGH, has today hosted Mombasa County Governor, H.E. Hassan Ali Joho and Kilifi County Governor, H.E. Amason Jeffah Kingi, EGH in his Ministry Headquarters, NSSF Building, Nairobi. CS Balala welcomed the two Governors to the Ministry Headquarters and thanked them for paying him this courtesy call. In particular, he was excited to host them, since they represented the two counties that were the bedrock of our beach tourism.
“We have now agreed to form a tripartite partnership between the Ministry and the two county governments, with a priority focus on tourism which is the mainstay of the economies of the two counties,” said CS Balala. “We have concurred with Governor Joho that both levels of government shall fully support and facilitate the 79th SKAL Congress, which will be held from 17th to 21st October, 2018 in Mombasa,” CS Balala said. The CS also congratulated the Mombasa County government for the efforts they have put into cleaning and beautifying the coastal city and its environments. He urged them to fast-track these efforts, so that Mombasa will be ready to receive our visitors in October. “The National Government will, in conjunction with the Mombasa City government, launch the Mombasa Regeneration Programme – similar to the ongoing one for Nairobi City – in September, 2018 to ensure the coastal city regains its lustre and glory,” stated CS Balala.
The CS also mentioned that he and Kilifi County Governor Kingi has agreed that the CS would visit Kilifi County next week, whereby CS Balala will share with the Governor both the National Tourism Blueprint (NTB) 2030 and National Wildlife Strategy (NWS) 2030 – both of which are relevant to the county. They will also witness the migration of whales at Watamu in Kilifi County.
CS Balala and the two Governors also concurred that they should jointly work towards ensuring that major events are held in the two coastal counties, so as to boost the businesses and livelihoods of the people. They also plan to develop joint digital marketing strategies to promote the coastal areas and their attendant tourist attractions.
Similarly, the three leaders emphasized the need to focus and expedite infrastructural projects at the coastal, in order to enhance access to tourist sites and also open up more areas to development. Specifically, they singled out the KilifiLung Lunga road that will ease movement of both people and goods in the coastal region.
CS Balala also revealed that the National Government will construct a mono rail from Miriti to downtown Mombasa to connect the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the CBD. The Kibarani dumpsite is also earmarked for development into an environment-friendly recreation park. The Mombasa County government will be assisted by both the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and National Youth Service (NYS) personnel to clear garbage from this site.
CS Balala invited both Governors and their county governments to attend and participate in the upcoming Kenya Tourism Festival (KTF) 2018, which shall take run from 27th September to 5th October, 2018 at Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). He precisely urged them to actively be involved in the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF), which is a showcase of high-growth destinations across Africa that brings together investors, developers, owners and operators within Africa tourism subsector.
CS Balala encouraged international hotel brands, which have set up and heavily invested in Nairobi, to also diversify and open establishments in other areas of Kenya, particularly the coastal region. He stated that the Ministry was striving to increase tourism numbers, not only through the Charter Incentive Program (CIP), but also the Air Growth Strategy – which aims at enticing Low Cost Carriers (LCCs), like Ryan Air and Easy Jet, to start flying into Moi International Airport (MIA) Mombasa. He also said that it is imperative that the issue of compensation of squatters is sorted expeditiously, so as to enable the requisite expansion of the Malindi International Airport runway to facilitate more charter airlines to land there.
On their part, the two governors thanked the CS for warmly hosting them and also spearheading projects that will boost their tourism sectors and economies too. They pledged their co-operation and collaboration with the National Government in development activities, to the benefit of their people and areas.
CS Balala was accompanied by his two Principal Secretaries – Dr. Margaret Mwakima (Wildlife) and Mr. Joe Okudo (Tourism).
