The county government of Marsabit has signed a ten year concession agreement with Jambo Travelers to run Bongole Tourist Resort located at Karare in Saku, Marsabit County.
The outsourcing of an experienced private service provider is aimed at generating internal revenue for the county, providing employment and boosting local tourism.
The official ceremony was led by the county executive committee member for trade and Investment Adan Hirbo and the chief executive officer of Jambo Travelers Ms. Buke Bashuna and witnessed by county executive committee member for gender and social services Jeremy Ledaany.
“We have given our new partner two years to prepare this facility before we officially open our gates to welcome guests from across the country” Adan stated.
The CEC also called on Karare residents to closely work with their new partner and provide a conducive environment for full realization of the project’s benefit.
Adan challenged the investor to stick to the terms of agreement for smooth operation of the multi-million project.
He also expressed his confidence after the investor and her team exhibited ‘serious’ commitment to reviving the project as agreed.
CEC Jeremy, whom the tourism docket falls under, thanked the local community for providing the land and promised reviving of the stalled facility for utilization.
Ms Bashuna, with 29 years of experience in the hotel and tourism industry is now tasked with full utilization and exploitation of the county’s tourism potential and providing efficient, and user-friendly services.
“Since inception, many counties have made huge profits from the tourism and hospitality industry. Now, the time has come for Marsabit”
She acknowledged how the county is endowed with numerous unexploited resources with unique features that lacked professional marketing across East and Central Africa.
The new investor in town, also requested the county for value addition like desert adventures aimed at moving away from the common animal orphanage.
“This is not my first concession agreement, I previously inked over 15 deals with different entities. Since I am a child of this county, therefore I’ll do my best to put Marsabit on the global map and shift away from the negative stories related to this region” she promised.
The soft spoken investor added, “I have a special request to make, The county to work on the road leading to the resort and install street lights, We also need to think about how to partner with potential airline companies for convenient scheduled flights”
The 83 million tourism facility has been designed to host 15 modern executive rooms, swimming pool, restaurants and conference halls as it magnificently overlooks an eye-catching Bongole Crater.
The county department of trade is also in the process of drafting a public-private partnership policy.
The county assembly member for Karare Ward Hon. Joseph Leruk urged the county to state revenue percentage meant for the local community and the investor to prioritize locals for job opportunities.
“We want the county departments of tourism and trade to work closely with the investor and the local community for proper planning to avoid any friction along the way”
The project currently sits on 1.5 Ha of land and the area MCA said the community is ready to add another one Hectare to make it 2.5Ha.
He also urged the county to absorb 7 employees already working at the facility arguing that they have been loyal for the past 8 years since the project started.
“I don’t want these individuals to be at the mercy of the investor; that is why I want the county to employ them even if it’s on contractual basis – That way they can even be able to secure loans and support their families as we also engage the investor for more job opportunities”
The then auditor General Edward Ouko in his report dated 18 Feb, 2019 revealed that the resort had not been operationalized despite having been fully completed and furnished in 2016-2017.
In June this year, Marsabit senator M.S Chute sought four statements on the status of the project from the senate standing committee on Roads, Transport and Housing.
His request included; provision of information on the commencement date of the project and reasons for not being operational, tendering process for the project with details of the contract awardee, the bid amount, initial price variation and actual price variation.
Other statement sought was on clarification of whether the County Government of Marsabit has deployed employees to the resort and, if so, to state the number of employees, their designations, their respective salaries and the work they do in the resort as well as indicating measures put in place to fast-track the operationalization of the resort.
The Bongole Tourist Resort was a brain child of the pioneer governor and the former treasury cabinet secretary Amb. Ukur Yattani Kanacho 8 years ago.
