The County Assembly of Murang’a has called for proper preservation and upgrade of local heritage and cultural centres to attract tourists.
The MCAs said most cultural and heritage sites have porous fences and there is no clear stakeholder involvement in the protection and preservation of these sites.
Tabling the report on the revival/upgrade of tourist attraction sites and cultural centres in Murang’a County, the assembly’s chairperson for the committee of trade, tourism, and wildlife, James Karanja Kabera, said the county has so much to offer for general sustainable tourism and excursion activities, and their upgrade can lead to bolstering of social-economic growth courtesy of tourism.
“Muranga's proximity to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and road network makes the county a potential premier destination; besides helping the local economy grow, the sites also affect the environment and culture,” he said.
The MCAs said there is disregard for the economic and social potential the tourism sector has in transforming the lives of those who give it priority.
“Intruders and vandals can easily access the sites to destroy and steal the fencing and stalled building materials and carry out anti-social activities, among other things," Kabera, MCA Kamahuha said.
Kabare said most of the cultural sites are under the management of private entities and therefore lack public-private sector partnerships to caution against misuse or abuse of the existing cultural and tourist attraction sites.
“Our key tourism products are not developed for consumption. They are deplorable, and so are their accessibility; this is as a result of continuously limited budget allocation and a lack of relevant legislation to support and promote tourism's development,” he said.
Kabera said the report recommended the county, in conjunction with stakeholders, should prioritise gazettement on all the cultural and tourist attraction sites as it forms the baseline for resource mobilisation and ensures protection from encroachment.
“Although the tourism subsector has identified and mapped six heritage and cultural centres, only three of them have been gazetted,” Kabera said.
“The three are Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga, Karuri wa Gakure, and Wangu wa Makeri homestead.”
He said the report recommended gazettement of Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga, Fort Hall Residence, Wangu wa Makeri homestead, Paramount Chief Karuri wa Gakure homestead, Tuthu Religious Shrine, and Mau Mau caves.
Kabera said the report recommended the county facilitate and provide appropriate incentives for private sector, SMEs and resident investment in the county tourism sector.
Moses Muchiri said the county government should strengthen the Department of Tourism Development and its institutions charged with research, marketing and promotion and regulation of tourism.
Muchiri said the county government, through relevant departments, should undertake mapping and inventory of all county tourism products, attractions, and facilities.
“Preservation of our cultural sites will boost our economic growth and environmental sustainability and preserve our country’s cultural heritage," Muchiri, MCA Muguru, said.
MCA Kahumbo highlighted the need to generate revenue through the heritage and cultural sites.
He said multimedia channel campaigns and implementation of aggressive marketing strategies across platforms, including social media like Facebook, websites and traditional media, would be used to market the sites.
Other MCAs who supported the motion are Steven Kimani (Kakuzi/Mitubiri Ward) and Edwin Wairagu (Gitugi Ward)