Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, hosted Mombasa County Governor, Hassan Ali Joho and his Kilifi County counterpart Amason Jeffah Kingi.
The meeting at Balala's NSSF Building offices saw the trio agree 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.
“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,” Balala said on Wednesday.
He 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 can be ready to receive Skal visitors in October.
“The National Government will, in conjunction with the Mombasa county government, launch the Mombasa Re-generation Programme – similar to the ongoing one for Nairobi City – in September 2018 to ensure the coastal city regains its luster and glory,” he noted.
He also mentioned that he alongside Kingi had agreed that he would visit Kilifi County next week, to 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 agreed to jointly work towards ensuring 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 open up more development areas.
Specifically, they singled out the Kilifi-Lunga 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 monorail from Miriti to downtown Mombasa to connect the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the CBD.
Balala was accompanied by his two Principal Secretaries, Dr. Margaret Mwakima (Wildlife) and Joe Okudo (Tourism).
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