Bad politics only good for politicians, not for tourism

The political climate is heating up in Kenya. Insults and threats are flying left, right and centre. Some of the insults are so shocking that it is hard to believe they come out of the mouths of people considered honourable. MPs have started to balkanise for 2027 General Election more than two years earlier than schedule. When do they work? There is a lot that is going wrong in Kenya that needs the input of the MPs. As lawmakers, their eyes should be on the country now and not on 2027 votes.

Improving security

Insecurity is of prime importance in Kenya. If the MPs cannot focus on anything else, they should at least focus on improving security. It is sad to read that insecurity has been left to fester to a point that it is now affecting one of our premier industries: tourism! Gangs of youths on the Coast turning on tourists and mugging them was unheard of in Kenya. However, it is to be expected if the youth are not engaging in any viable economic activities because of lack of jobs.

Tourism on Mombasa Island was once a thriving industry that employed most locals at beach hotels and in the town. Restaurants, street food vendors, night clubs, and curio shops on the island did thriving businesses until they were driven out of town by greed and insecurity. The stretch along Kilindini Road, the site of last week’s alleged mugging of a tourist, is a major hub for cruise liners to dock. It was famous for amazing restaurants and tourist shops that attracted tourists in their hundreds.

I was born on the island, and my memory was of us running alongside a canopy of white legs as children, who anecdotally outnumbered locals by one to 10. That is how popular the island itself was. Besides Islamism which led to the demise of night clubs and hotels like Manor Hotel, that was in fact pulled down by a corrupt politician after the land, the decline of the island was and still is due to bad politics and lack of investment to attract tourists back. It is a shame that the return of the cruise liners is met with insecurity claims.

Cruise liners docking at the Port of Mombasa are not only interested in wheezing tourists off to the far-flung beach hotels, but some of the tourists may just want to sample local culture, food and ambience. Little of this is now evident on the island. The last time I walked along Kilindini Road and Moi Avenue, there was nothing but boarded-up shop after another. These were once thriving streets heaving with tourists.

Regional politics

Regional politics that hollowed out an important tourist town, such as the Island of Mombasa, could only be blamed on bad politics and politicians hell-bent on self-service than serving the country. Besides the construction of the Light House area (I refuse to call it Mama Ngina Drive!), I bet for kickbacks, Mombasa has not had a major facelift and investment to compete with Dubai, Paris or Las Vegas. Local MPs, whose second homes are in Dubai and mesmerised by it, don’t appear keen to upgrade Mombasa to an international standard to attract tourists and create jobs and investment as Dubai has.

It is easy to blame gangs of youth who have taken to violence and drugs in Mombasa and not the politicians who created the problems for the youth in the first place. For a town to drop from Mombasa Raha to Mombasa Madawa, it could only mean that politicians have taken their eyes off what is important for the country. One such crucial industry for Kenya is tourism. If it fails in Mombasa, it will have a knock-on effect on all other tourism areas in the country. Tourism is vulnerable to poor, violent politics and insecurity. One cannot expect to pay thousands of dollars to visit a country but instead end up losing their property. Insecurity is a sure way of losing tourists.

Insecurity that affects locals and is left to fester is bound to have a larger impact on tourist areas. It is just common sense. Politicians are busy surviving politics or satisfying their greed for public funds rather than working to make the country secure for all, including locals and tourists. Tourism, as one of the highest earners for Kenya, must be above politics at all times.

Investing in major tourist towns such as Mombasa and keeping them safe and secure is more beneficial to the country than self-serving politics. By improved security, I am not talking about gun-wielding, bribe-hungry police officers, but security agencies working covertly to keep the streets of our major tourist towns safe at all hours of the day so that tourists and locals can both contribute to the economy positively.

If politicians cannot do anything else, let them at least keep tourism alive by upholding security and creating jobs.

Ms Guyo is a legal researcher. kdiguyo@gmail.com, @kdiguyo