#KENYA’S TOURISM SECTOR APPLAUDS THE RE-APPOINTMENT OF NAJIB BALALA AS TOURISM MINISTER
(Posted 06th January 2018)
‘Excellent choice by the President to keep Najib Balala as Tourism Cabinet Secretary because he absolutely is the best we have had in generations‘ commented a regular reader of this publication from Mombasa after news broke late yesterday of the partial new cabinet line up in Kenya.
Najib was brought back into a portfolio well into the first term of the Kenyatta presidency after initially overseeing Mining, by broad consensus the wrong portfolio given his vast experience in the sector and after serving already as Tourism Minister during the Kibaki presidency.
Balala took over at a time when sectoral competence was key to reviving the Kenyan tourism industry after a string of poor performers in this, for Kenya, crucial portfolio.
President Kenyatta only nominated nine Cabinet Secretaries at the time and notably dropped Balala’s predecessor Phyllis Kandie from cabinet, as he did also with Prof. Judi Wakhungu who held the Environment and Natural Resources portfolio.
More cabinet positions will be announced over the coming days it is understood but for now it is a moment for the country’s tourism industry to look into the next years with renewed confidence now that their main ally in government has made a comeback.
Congratulations to Najib Balala on his re-appointment.
The announcement of Principal Secretaries too is expected in due course and like with Balala himself is the tourism sector rooting for Mrs. Fatuma Hirsi to serve a second term in the tourism ministry too.
