By Macharia Kamau

Cabinet Secretaries filling the de-politicised positions in the Tourism ministry may not have the luxury of induction. They might need to hit the ground running on the first days as their in-tray is already full.

The Secretary will be assuming office at a time when the industry is experiencing myriad challenges, undermining its growth. The ministry just announced industry performance for 2012 that showed a dip in earnings and arrivals for the year.

The most stressing need will however be filling board positions in agencies that fall under the Ministry. The directors’ positions have remained vacant for more than eight months now, following a mass firing of directors by the outgoing minister Dan Mwazo.

Wielding powers

Currently, State agencies under the Ministry are half full. Other than seats reserved for government officials like the permanent secretaries in Tourism and Finance Ministries, other seats including the chairpersons across all the agencies are vacant.

Mid last year, the Minister fired board members of all State run Tourism bodies and made fresh hiring. In the July 20 gazette notice, the Minister said the changes were part of measures being undertaken in readiness for the implementation of the Tourism Act that was signed to law in September 2011.

Some of the disgruntled former members of the Boards went to court, arguing the Minister acted illegally and wanted the new members barred from taking office.

While the move was seen as political, with the minister trying to undo what his predecessor Najib Balala had put in place, he stands by his actions arguing that what he needed was in the interest of reform and in line with the new Act.

“I came in as a person who wanted reform for the industry. I have done so much and expect some of it to be done by the person who takes up as the Cabinet Secretary,” Mwazo said last week. “The new Act requires that all board positions to be filled competitively.” Kenya Tourist Board (KTB), Kenya Tourist Development Corporation, Kenyatta International Conference Centre and Kenya Utalii College are among the bodies housed by the Tourism Ministry.

Others are Bomas of Kenya and Tourism Fund (formerly Catering and Tourism Development Levy Trustees. In addition to filling the vacant positions in the current agencies, the new secretary will need to operationalisation of the new Tourism Act.

The Act has created a number of new bodies and requires others to be re-fashioned and take up new roles. Among the new bodies include the Tourism Regulatory Authority, Tourism Research Institute and the Tourism Tribunal.

Support services

The new law also creates a Tourism Protection Service, which at the moment exists as a unit. Mwazo said the implementation of the act has been slow due to lack of funds, noting some of the bodies are new and the ministry would have to start them from scratch.

“We are yet to have a regulatory body and other new bodies because of budgetary constraints. Some of the bodies are brand new and we have to employ everybody and that would require money that we did not have at the time,” he said.

Mwazo estimated that a complete implementation of the Act would require an additional Sh150 million in the first year.

 But the ministry did not have during the current financial year but is hopeful it would get the allocation in the 2013/2014 financial year. “We expect the new government to factor these in the budget for the next financial year so that the new bodies can be put in place to propel the industry to further growth,” he said.

Significant Help

Industry players have in the past argued full implementation of the Act could significantly help in managing some of the challenges facing the industry.

“The Tourism Act remains largely unimplemented over an year since it was passed into law. The industry continues to grapple with issues that could have been resolved by the Act were it to be fully implemented,” said Adam Jillo chairman Kenya Association of Tour Operators.

“It is imperative that the necessary mechanisms be put in place to ensure proper implementation of the measures stipulated in the Act.” An official at the Ministry noted the parastatals housed by the Tourism ministry are having a difficult time operating.

Some have been unable to implement projects in instances where they need the go ahead from the boards. In the absence of boards, the agencies have to seek the go ahead from the Permanent Secretary, who might be overwhelmed and might also not be well versed with the nitty-gritty of certain projects.

According to the law, board members to the different bodies have to be recruited through a competitive process and should be representative of the industry.