Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala at a past function. [Photo/greatmigrationcamps.com]
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala and members of an adventurers group dubbed the ‘Seven Summits Africa team’ are poised to climb Mount Kenya. The CS on Monday joined members of the group, journalists, and mountaineers ahead of the five-day excursion, which aims at promoting both domestic and local tourism in the country. The team will be climbing different mountains including Mt Karisimbi, Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Stanley, Mt Speke, Mt Meru, Mt Kenya and Mt Nyiragongo.They seek to set a World First by climbing seven African Mountain Summits within seven weeks.Speaking ahead of the excursion, Balala said that the team embarked on climbing the mountains to create awareness among tourists in the country and across the borders.He also hailed the scenic nature of the mountain and acknowledged the fact that climbing the mountain will not be a walk in the park for him and the members. The CS, however, regretted that the Mountain still remains unknown to some of the tourists visiting the country, adding that he will organize a stakeholder meeting to chat the way forward as he looks forward to taking the sector to the next level.“Mt Kenya is well known but still we have underutilized it in terms of opening it up to both local and international visitors. When I come back we will call stakeholders meeting to be able to promote it better,” said Balala.The leader of the group Carel Verhoef said that climbing the mountain is a tough challenge for them but they are determined to make history.President Uhuru Kenyatta has wished Balala and the members well as they climb the mountain.