Hope is in the air for the tourism sector players in Kilifi county following a successful transition period after the August General Election.
The players in Kilifi County have now expressed optimism that the industry will boom again after the formation of a new County and National government following peaceful elections witnessed in the country.
The Players said they have high hopes for President William Ruto and more saw the County Governor Gideon Mung’aro.
The governor is an experienced tourism sector player and is being accredited for reforms in Malindi town when he served as a mayor.
They spoke during the monthly clean-up organized by the Progress Welfare Association of Malindi (PWAM) which brings together different stakeholders from the Business community, hoteliers, school children, and their teachers, Islamic religious leaders, and Muslim children, among others, and which is aimed at Making Malindi greener and cleaner.
During this month’s clean up Italians who used to participate in the exercise but travelled during the Covid19 pandemic came back with pledges to continue supporting the program.
The spokesman of the Italian Community in Kilifi County Freddie Di Curatolo said they were happy as a community for witnessing a peaceful election and transition.
“We are ready to have tourism back we are expecting more and more people in December already one charter started in August and we are expecting four to five charters weekly in December,” he said.
Curatolo said currently reservations were still going on though there is still a problem with the increased costs of fuel which has made flights expensive.
He however said they expect a good season in December as all hotels that were closed in Malindi and Watamu have reopened.
The Spokesman said they were happy for Governor Gideon Mung’aro for being elected Kilifi governor as he had such a big experience in the tourism sector having worked for Italian Billionaire Flavio Briatore in the 90s before becoming mayor and MP for Malindi.
“Of course talking again of the Malindi international airport to have direct flights here so we are confident that Mung’aro will solve these problems.
Curatolo said the tourists who took part in the clean-up shall be promoting the exercise through social media to pull more entrepreneurs who can create jobs through recycling.
Kate Mwikali the chairperson of PWAM said Mung’aro has come at the right time to help revive the sector and the economy at large.
She said as PWAM they have managed to bring all stakeholders together from the police, national Chamber of commerce, hoteliers, government agencies KWS, and interior among many other institutions, and asked the governor to take advantage of the platform to help forge a way forward in his transformation agenda for the county.
“When you come to clean share with us your ideas, tell us what your plans are and we will walk with you and it’s not just the county government and the national government but also the donors, world bank, and other donors who want to partner with the national and county government, she said.
She welcomed president William Ruto with his hustler narrative and advise youth not to sit back and expect to be given money.
“That wheelbarrow movement is for a window to be an entrepreneur, it is a window to be innovative even if it is collecting waste in homes which cannot be accessed by trucks use the wheelbarrows to collect them and charge people and make products out of the products to add value, she said.
She thanked the new partners who had joined including the council of Imams, Muslim religious groups, and tourists.
Senior Sergent Abu Bocha from KWS said the clean-up exercise has been important for sensitizing the young generation on the importance of keeping the environment clean, particularly on the beaches.
He said since the clean-up began it has helped save endangered species in the Ocean and maintain cleanliness on the beaches.
“Apart from Cleaning the ocean we also do underwater clean up we work with Bluefin diving school to ensure there are no plastic wastes in the ocean,” he said.
The Malindi Sub County Environment officer Lennox Mwangolo said they are beginning a program next week on community sensitization and awareness program to reach different communities and stakeholders with strategies of waste management.
The County has initiated the process we will be teaming with other stakeholders so as to enhance waste management, he said.
An Islamic religious leader who joined the clean-up team said they found the idea important to keep the environment clean.
