Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala at a past event. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
Mombasa County’s growing heaps of garbage are among drawbacks clawing back the recovery of the tourism sector in Coast region, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has said.
Balala said although Mombasa is the country’s resort hub, the filth in the town that borders the Indian Ocean presents a major concern to both local and international visitors.“Rotting garbage in Mombasa is hampering the government’s efforts to revive tourism in this popular destination,” Balala said Monday, calling on the county government to address the ongoing garbage collection crisis.Tourism sector players have in the past said the county government should play its part by cleaning the town ahead the 2017 tourism peak season.“In every corner of the town you travel, you are hit by sickening smell of rotting garbage or sewage emptied into storm-water drainage system,” Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers (KAHC) Coast branch executive Sam Ikwaye said on Monday.“For Mombasa to attract more holidaymakers, the county government must rid the destination of sickening filth,” Balala added.Balala spoke three weeks after Mombasa gubernatorial contender Suleiman Shahbal accused Governor Hassan Joho of “sleeping on the job” by failing to clean up the Coastal city.