Businesses make a kill as Legislative summit kicks off

Chief Administrative Secretary State Department for Gender Rachael Shebesh addresses women conference during the 4th Legislative Summit in Kisumu on April 14, 2019. [Denish Ochieng/Standard]

Businesses in Kisumu are preparing to make a kill as the fourth Annual Senate Legislative Summit officially kicks off today.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to open the ceremony officially later today and confer state commendation to County Assembly Speakers. 

For the past one year, Kisumu’s economy has been on a steady recovery path following destruction of businesses the previous year due political violence.

So bad was the situation that even some investors pulled out from the town before the golden handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga changed fortunes for the city.

Today, more than 4000 delegates are in Kisumu for the summit as they seek various services in what traders described as an icing on the cake that the summit has brought.

The visitors include MCAs from the 47 county assemblies, their Speakers, Senators as well as other stakeholders.

The summit has provided the city with a fresh opportunity to improve its economy which was battered during the political unrest that rocked the country in 2017 and early 2018.

On Monday, hoteliers, taxi operators as well as other small businesses expressed optimism that the summit is set to be a game changer for the region’s economy which has in the past also hosted the devolution conference.

A spot check in a number of hotels established that most of the hotels had been reserved by guests with a majority of the top hotels already booked to their capacities.

Western Kenya Hospitality Leaders Association chairperson Robinson Anyal told Sunday Standard that the city had the capacity to host all the guests who are attending the summit.

“We are estimating the bed capacities to be at around 6,000. Most of the top hotels have already been booked but guests have also reserved a number of rooms in various hotels,” said Anyal.

A spot check by The Standard across the various hotels established that guests had already checked in while a lot more were also making inquiries.

At Park View Safari Hotel, staff at the hotel expressed confidence that they were ready to provide the guests with great hospitality even as they also reported increased inquiries from guests.

According to Richard Ogendo, the executive committee member for economic planning, the summit has provided the city with an opportunity to boost its economy.

“There will be more than a thousand delegates in Kisumu and we should make the best out of this,” said Ogendo.

Taxi operators also expressed confidence of boosting their income during the event which is set to run until Thursday next week.

John Ochieng, a taxi operator based at the Kisumu International Airport told The Standard that the number of guests they have had to transport to various hotels across the town has also increased since Friday.

“The summit is a blessing to us. Although the number of people who have been seeking taxi services has significantly improved since the beginning of the year, the last three days has been great,” said Ochieng.

Traders operating boat ride services at the lake are however not a smiling lot as the invasive water hyacinth weeds continue to block beaches around Kisumu.