BY TONY WAFULA
Despite having many unique tourist attraction sites, Bungoma county in Western Kenya has over the years remained an untapped tourism destination.
Bungoma plays host to the Bukusu, Tachoni, Saboat, Iteso and Batura cultural events, is home to ‘The foot of Jesus’ and Swinging Bridge but they are yet to be explored by local and foreign tourists.
As a result, residents at Nabuyole waterfall in Webuye East constituency have urged the national government to refurbish the waterfall so that it can generate income through tourism and open other sites for site-seeing in the region.
They say that the site has been neglected since independence.
Resident Jackson Makhanu opines that if the site is refurbished, it will attract tourists and earn the county millions that would readily boos the economy in the region and create business and jobs opportunities.
“If our politicians could honour what they promised us, this area would have improved economically,” Makhanu says.
He called on the government to consider fencing the site and build a hotel that can be patronized by those who tour the site.
“The economy of this place is low because we don’t have a hotel where tourists can stay during adventure. If the government can better this place, Bungoma will earn good revenue,” Makhanu opines.
As the water flows from Chereng’ani Hills, it forms River Nzoia, which has benefited locals and the factories in the region. River Nzoia provides water for cooling at Pan Paper, Nzoia Sugar Factory and Mumias Sugar Company in Kakamega county.
And other than providing water for cooling the machines in these industries, it has also supplied water to Nzowasco both in Trans- Nzoia and Bungoma counties.
Makhanu narrated that in 1972, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta toured the site and promised the government would inject funds into it. Since then, more politicians have visited with same empty promises.
For instance, former Webuye East MP Alfred Sambu brought engineers who had plans to tap electricity from the waterfall but that remains a pipedream.
Makhanu also said the falls have played an important role in facilitating cultural activities, whereby local musicians have produced songs at the site, citing the famous Tachoni song Wandindi by Pius Wafula.
“As the government neglects this beautiful site, local musicians have made good use of it. If you watch the Tachoni song “Wandindi” by Pius Wafula it displays the view of this waterfall,” he said.
OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano has said her ministry has introduced a strategic plan that outlines transformative strategies and goals to foster sustainable growth and resilience in Kenya’s tourism sector.
“Tourism is recognized as a pivotal economic pillar under Kenya vision 2030, contributing to the country’s global competitiveness, prosperity and enhanced quality of life,” the CS noted.
Miano added that the fourth medium term plan (2023-2027) positions tourism as a key driver of inclusive growth under the Kenya Kwanza Administration’s Bottom- up economic transformation Agenda (BETA).
Miano affirms that tourism remains a crucial driver of Kenya’s economic growth, with a multiplier effect across all sectors and value chains.
The sector’s remarkable post- Covid-19 recovery reflects its resilience, marked by a 35.4% increase in tourist arrivals and a 31.5% rise in inbound earnings in 2023 compared to 2022.
The strategic plan aspires to position Kenya as a premier tourism destination renowned for innovation, sustainability and unique, unforgettable experiences.
The CS argues that to achieve this goal, the plan focuses on enhancing tourism promotion initiatives, diversifying tourism products, expanding target markets, and enhancing destination competitiveness through enhancing and enforcing quality standards in tourism hospitality and capacity development.
The sites in Bungoma could conveniently offer an opportunity to diversify and expand tourism products, experiences and services in the country.
Lucky Mueni, a hotelier, says that for Bungoma to compete with other regions in the country in terms of tourist attractions, the county department of Water, Tourism, Environment, Natural resources and Climate change needs to develop a strategic plan and partner with international partners to boost the sector.
“Bungoma has many tourist sites to attract foreign tourists but due to lack of a plan, we have has remained behind for all these years,” she said.
Further, she says that Bungoma would have capitalized on the cultural events, Mt Elgon Elephant maternity, ‘The foot of Jesus in Sang’alo’, Mt Elgon National forest , Nabuyole waterfalls in Webuye, traditional foods and other sites to attract tourists, who would have injected millions in the economy.
In addition, Mueni who runs the hotel industry in Germany, said she is ready to bring investors to boost the tourism industry in Bungoma.
Mueni spoke during a consultative meeting with Bungoma County CEC for Water, Tourism, Environment, Natural resources and Climate change Dr. Andrew Wamalwa and the other stakeholders.
Pius Masinde, the owner of a hotel in Bungoma, applauded the efforts noting that the hotel industry is doing badly attributing it to the poor dull state of the tourism sector.
“Hotels greatly depend on the visitors to make money and the tourism sector is the one to help us make money,” Masinde stated, adding that Bungoma has a lot of features and a history to showcase.
He added, “If we work together the hotel industry will definitely grow, create employment and friends coming in,”
In his address, Namanda Nasila, the secretary general of the Bungoma hoteliers association, said that Bungoma is endowed with a lot of tourism resources arguing that it has not been put to the required standards.
Dr. Andrew Wamalwa, County’s CEC for water, Water, Tourism, Environment, Natural resources and Climate change, admitted that the tourism industry in Bungoma is doing badly insisting on concerted efforts to uplift the sector.
“We are lucky because we have met someone who is willing to support us to grow this tourism industry, I’m happy about the idea, this is just the beginning. We are going to engage many other interested partners to see how we can boost the tourism sector,” Wamalwa said.
