27/08/2023
I stand with Mohammed Hersi.
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Your Excellency President William Samoei Ruto .
I am writing this piece with a very heavy heart .
Tourism is key source of much needed FOREX into Kenya. Our currency is getting hit badly by other currencies but Tourism a key source for forex is being undermined in a way never seen before in this country.
From Visa online that hardly works and now the new move that all goverment payments should go to ecitizen which means KWS have suspended funds being paid to them directly. Please don't get me wrong, we want ecitizen to work but they don't just have the capacity.
On ecitizen there is no corporate platform it's all individual accounts then add the forex payment challenges.
Your excellency paying park fees on ecitizen is just not working and what a mess , surely why introduce a new rule in the middle of a peak period. Competing destination are just laughing at us. Pictures don't lie and videos will give you a more clear picture of where we are today. These two videos have been shared by our frustrated driver guides. We have just come out of covid crisis then this self inflicted crisis.
Your excellency we would be writing to our CS Tourism Peninah Malonza seeking a one on one appointment to meet you. You have now marked one year in office and it's only fair that we meet you so that we can also tell you what is working and what we need to do to surmount some of the hurdles we are facing. Tourism is a key player to help you deliver on your Kenya Kwanza manifesto.
Your excellency we mean well and Kenya is in big demand but the delivery from evisa to park fees is making us lose the plot.
First things first please allow Kenya Wildlife Service to retain the status quo as ecitizen gets sorted out . I am afraid the firm running ecitizen and eVisa is single biggest threat to the future of tourism. Out of nowhere the same online platform expect us to pay them 3.5% charges for each park fees. Who will bear this cost in the middle of a busy period where packages have already been sold ?
As always I choose to remain an optimist that self inflicted crisis is resolved before we end up losing all the bookings that is in the books.
I have been in tourism business for the 20+ years never seen it this hard.
Mohammed Hersi
Chairman
Diani Hospitality Owners Association
