Phyllis Kandie urged to fast-track appointment of parastatal boards
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie and Elgeyo-Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos speak to the media on April 9, 2015. FILE PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA |
What you need to know:
- The Western Circuit Tourism Association said lack of boards in the parastatals have hurt efforts to market Kenya as a tourism destination.
- CS admitted that the lack of boards was hurting the industry.
Tourism players in western Kenya have asked Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie to speed up the setting up of boards at parastatals falling under her ministry.
The Western Circuit Tourism Association said lack of boards in the parastatals have hurt efforts to market Kenya as a tourism destination.
The association also wants Mrs Kandie to fund the promotion of tourism in the region.
Chief executive Phelix Obuya said in a letter to the CS that the association wanted more resources to be put into local tourism.
“For regional balance, we propose that some of our members be considered for positions in the national parastatal boards,” he said.
HAS NO BOARD
Mr Obuya cited the example of the Tourism Fund that has been unable to advance credit to investors because it had no board to approve disbursements.
In October 2014, the ministry said it would soon forward names of nominees to the relevant authorities for vetting and approval.
On Tuesday, Mrs Kandie admitted that the lack of boards was hurting the industry but was non-committal about when the positions would be filled.
“The positions will be filled once normal appointment procedures are through,” she said through public relations officer Kaplich Barsito.
Other parastatals without boards are the Kenya Tourism Board, Utalii College, Kenya Tourism Development Corporation, Bomas of Kenya, Hotels and Restaurants Authority and Kenyatta International Conference Centre.
In its proposals on how to improve tourism in the lake region, the Western Circuit Tourism Association wants to introduce boat cruises in Lake Victoria.
“Based on the success of past events, we believe cruise tourism can be very attractive to domestic tourists,” Mr Obuya said.
The association also proposed to promote culture and heritage sites as tourism attractions.
“There are marvellous sites in western Kenya that the ministry should exploit and market locally and internationally to tourists,” the association said.
The requests coincided with last week’s three-day tour of Kisumu, Siaya, Kakamega and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties by Mrs Kandie and a team from the Kenya Tourism Board.
