Najib Balala’s tenure as Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Tourism has ended after serving under both the late Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta regimes for more than 12 years cumulatively.
This comes after President William Ruto appointed former Kitui Deputy Governor Penina Malonza as the new CS despite the ex-CS being the first to warm up to Ruto following his election as president.
However, Balala welcomed the appointment of Penina Malonza as his successor and congratulated President Ruto for appointing the new Cabinet, saying that he was grateful to have served in government since 1998.
“Congratulations to President Dr. @WilliamsRuto on unveiling your New Cabinet Team. I am honoured to have served my country for the past 24 years, since being Mombasa Mayor, in 1998, to now serving as the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife,” Balala said.
He pledged to offer full support to the incoming Tourism CS as she undertakes the new role of spearheading tourism in Kenya.
“I welcome the appointment of Hon. Peninah Malonza as the New Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Wildlife, and Heritage. You have my full support. God Bless Kenya,” he said.
Ms Malonza is the first CS to be appointed from Kitui South constituency since independence and one of the only two ministers in Ukambani region.
Alongside former Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, the new CS will now be President Ruto’s political point person especially in Kitui County as the Head of State seeks to make inroads in Ukambani region.
She will be in charge of guiding the tourism industry’s recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Malonza joins the Ministry at a time when the number of international tourists visiting the country has increased by 91.3 percent from January to August, to 924,812, up from 483, 246 in the same period last year.
This was accompanied by an increase in inbound tourism earnings, which more than doubled to Sh167.1 billion from Sh83.2 billion in the same period last year.
