The Malindi Municipality Board has rolled out strategies to reclaim the lost glory of Malindi town and make the town the preferred tourist destination in Africa.
Board Chairman Omar Salim and Town Manager Johnson Mwabati conceded that the town was not as clean as it should be but promised that the board would collaborate with other stakeholders to clean and beautify the town to make it attractive to local and international tourists.
Addressing journalists at the Malindi municipality offices Monday, Mr. Salim said the board was aware that reclaiming the lost glory of the once vibrant tourist hub in Kenya was an enormous task that required the collaboration of all stakeholders.
“The task ahead of us is enormous, but we shall join hands to address issues and implement development to revamp our tourism town of Malindi as the most preferred destination for visitors,” he said.
He said it was the desire of the board that Malindi becomes an all-year tourist destination, create new and more diverse customer experiences andproducts,s as well as rebrand the town.
To achieve this, the chairman said the board would prioritise cleaning of road reserves and opening new spaces along the road from the BP filling station to the Malindi police station, ensuring uniform colours for buildings, roadside parks, and green projects, among others.
“In promoting our tourism, this can be done in many ways, including constant television programmes, advertisements on tourism activities, signage with tourism messages, carrying out public barazas, as well as employing digital platforms, including social media, to reach more customers globally,” Salim said.
He said the board would highlight and stress unique sites such as museums, historical sites, natural landscapes, and cultural landmarks to attract tourism.
Mr. Salim said the board would adopt uniform colours for all buildings in the town to make them more attractive, but added that it would grant owners of those buildings ample time to paint their buildings owing to the current harsh economic environment.
Board member Conrad Atyan said to achieve the best results, the board would not rush the projects but would instead move strategically with the involvement of all stakeholders.
Speaking separately, Eng. Mwabati, the Acting Town Manager, said the town administration had leased new garbage collection trucks, bought new garbage bins, and introduced night shifts to ensure that garbage collection is carried out day and night.
He also said he had strengthened the enforcement department to ensure that garbage is disposed of in designated areas and that those found dumping waste anyhow would be arrested and punished according to the town’s bylaws.
By Emmanuel Masha
