Government responds to backlash over planned privatization of beaches, islands
Ministry of Tourism has moved to clarify reports circulating online alleging plans to privatize beaches and islands along Kenya’s coastline.
The Ministry of Tourism has moved to clarify reports circulating online alleging plans to privatize beaches and islands along Kenya’s coastline.
In a statement on Tuesday, October 28, State Department for Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa described the claims as misleading and made in bad faith.
He insisted that the government remains the custodian of all beach land and resources and has no intention of transferring ownership to private entities.
Ololtuaa added that the ongoing discussions on tourism development are purely consultative and guided by existing laws.
“It is important to clarify that proposals made during public participation cannot possibly endorse any form of privatization or inform policy formulation as imputed in some social media outlets without being subjected to scrutiny as demanded by strictures provided by the law,” he said.
Ololtuaa explained that while the private sector is involved in tourism development, its role is limited to investment, innovation, and service delivery under government regulation.
“In any case, beach land and resources remain under the ownership and management of the National Government. The private sector only provides investment, innovation, and service delivery under regulated agreements,” he added.
As such, Ololtuaa dismissed claims that the National Government is attempting to bypass established laws to create questionable investment opportunities in the tourism sector.
“On that note, it is critical to state without any equivocation whatsoever that any premature conclusion alleging that the National Government intends to bend established legal provisions to engage in illegitimate creation of investment opportunities in the tourism sector is both far-fetched and can only be uttered in complete bad faith by whomsoever,” he further said.
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Ololtuaa explained that the Tourism Act requires the Ministry of Tourism to develop a National Tourism Strategy to guide how the industry is managed, marketed, and regulated.
“The Tourism Act mandates the Ministry responsible for tourism in Kenya to prepare a National Tourism Strategy outlining how the sector will be marketed, managed, and regulated. A draft National Tourism Strategy has, therefore, been developed and shared with stakeholders to invite public comments and input before it is finalised,” he stated.
According to Ololtuaa, the draft strategy is built around three pillars, including efforts to enhance Kenya’s beach tourism experience through product re-engineering and improved visitor experience.
“The strategy is essentially built around three key pillars, one of which focuses on re-engineering Kenya’s tourism product development to enhance the overall visitor experience. Under this pillar, one of the strategic directions is to enhance Kenya’s beach tourism experience.
“Specifically, page 50 of the draft strategy proposes identifying and designating certain beaches and islands for special concessions as imagined along global best practice,” he explained.
Ololtuaa said while some members of the public have suggested the country should adopt different approaches to tourism development, the government remains guided by existing laws and regulations.
“Buoyed by this general thrust, participants in our continuing public engagement have questioned why our model should not veer off from the prevailing convention.
“However, noting as we do that we are governed by established policies and legislations such as the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (2013) and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act as well as KWS’s internal guidelines the Government remains aware that some proposals made may not feasible or even actionable,” he concluded.
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