The national government plans to restart talks with the Mombasa county government in a bid to hand over the running of the Mama Ngina Waterfront Park to the county.
The park was refurbished at a cost of Sh460 million during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime.
Initial talks had agreed to have the park handed over to the county government for management once completed, according to Likuyani MP Innocent Mugabe.
Mugabe was part of the talks when he was the Mombasa county Tourism chief officer during the talks.
On Tuesday, the National Assembly Tourism and Wildlife Committee toured the facility and held lengthy discussions with the person in charge in the presence of Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtua.
The talks revolved around the management of the park, its security and ways of becoming self-sustainable, among other issues.
The Mombasa county government has been pushing to be allowed to manage the facility.
On Wednesday, Governor Abdulswamad Nassir told the committee they are the ones who provide cleaning and sanitation services, apart from taking charge of its security using the county inspectorate.
Nassir said entry to the park is free and should remain so amid fears there are plans to start charging people entry fees.
The MPs however have opposed any move to charge patrons using he recreational park to unwind and relax.
Voi MP Abdi Chome said any strategy to be used at the park should not interfere with the public’s enjoyment of the facility. There should be no charges for entry, he said.
The lawmaker also said that no money should be given to the park until a final determination is made on who should run the park between the Tourism ministry and the Mombasa county government.
“Because we can put in additional money and tomorrow we make a decision to hand over the park to the county,” Chome said, adding that if the county is asking for the park, then it means they are ready to manage it.
“So, before we place any money on the table, we discuss the ownership. And if we come up with a plan to hand it over to the county government, which I think is the most feasible anyway, then they should find money to improve it and everything.”
The park has 76 stalls where traders, who are also not charged any fees, sell their stuff including potato and cassava crisps, palm juice, ice cream, horse riding and photography, among others.
Ali Nuru, the park’s coordinator, said the only source of income for the park comes from the people who rent the facility’s space to organise events.
The park, which has a 3km stretch along the coastline, also has 12,000 square metres of an area that can hold up to 22,000 people.
There is also an extra 1.5 acres of land that is yet to be utilised. Nuru said there are plans to put up a convention centre there that will bring in extra money.
Kiambaa MP Njuguna Wanjiku said the park has to be defined first before any other business is conducted on it.
“We have heard it was given more than Sh426 million. It is a state corporation? Is it a parastatal? Is it an agency? Is it an NGO? We want to know what it is exactly,” Wanjiku said.
He said once that is established, it would be easier to conduct any business regarding it including funding it, if need be.
Ololtua said Executive Order No 1 of 2022 had placed Mama Ngina Waterfront Park as an agency under the Tourism ministry. This was under former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
However, it was overlooked in the Executive Order No 1 of 2023. This was under President William Ruto.
The Tourism PS also said the park has not been captured in the Tourism Act.
“Therefore, we are following up to see that it is captured,” he said.
The PS said he was not aware of the deal to hand over the park to the county once complete, but has had a conversation with the county government, which expressed interest in running it.
“But as it is now, the records we have in the office indicate that Mama Ngina Waterfront Park is under the State Department for Tourism and I think that is why the government funded it’s refurbishment,” the PS told the committee.
The park, at the moment, is still being supported by the State Department for Tourism because it has not been able to raise its income properly.
Mugabe, who was the Mombasa county tourism chief officer when the refurbishment of the park was mooted and implemented, said the county government had even developed a proper plan for the handover of the park.
The Tourism Act, he said, allows the Tourism ministry to develop new tourism boards, through the Tourism Fund.
A board was established to run the park once completed but the board’s tenure has since lapsed and there is currently no board.
The Likuyani MP also questioned the legality of the board.
“But again, when you look at the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, the issue of recreational parks is under county governments. So the ministry cannot come to operate recreational parks,” the lawmaker said.
It is through that principle that the agreement to develop and hand over to the county was done, he said.
But after development, there were several issues that made the handover delay or stall. The same issues made the remodelling of Pirates beach stall.
“The county insisted that before we start, we must have a legally binding document that shows the same. That the ministry is the developer then it will hand over to the county,” Mugabe said, adding that the county had even developed a document that would guide the management of the park.
“I don’t see what interest the ministry has in operating a recreational park. They have developed it and have the right structures to hand over the right entity to handle it,” the Likuyani MP said.
He said the ministry will not be efficient in running the park, because they are not on the ground and it will only increase its operational costs. This will make the park a liability to the ministry.
Lamu East MP Ruweida Obbo said there have been harassment cases at the park by both the security agents and idle youth, which must be addressed.
“We have had cases where security agents knock on your car window to check who you are with in the car. That is wrong because that is a private space,” the legislator said.
She said security agents have made the park a money-minting venture by harassing patrons even when they are in their private cars.
“Those with mistresses then have to part with something small because they do not want the matter to be exposed,” she said.
Nuru acknowledged there have been incidences where rogue revellers with ulterior motives have robbed other revellers visiting the park.
He also acknowledged that some of the park visitors use their cars as sex dens, adding that security agents are helping to prevent immoral behaviours.
He however said the Mombasa public, like many Kenyans using the social media, has a tendency to blow things out of proportion by sending unverified clips on social media.
“You find an incident happening, a person records part of the incident and puts it on social media without verifying the facts. We end up having a very distorted issue where the public feeds on the wrong information,” Nuru said.
Acting Mombasa county commissioner Ronald Muiwawi said there are security officers working under inspectorate that have been strategically placed at different parts of the park.
“In every gate, we have NYS (National Youth Service) officers who ensure that only vehicles get it. No boda bodas or tuk tuks are allowed in,” Muiwawi said.
On Saturdays and Sundays, when patrons increase, additional security agents are deployed.
“Because there are many people, one or two incidents are usually reported. But we have adequate security here,” the county commissioner said.
Nuru said it is important to have Swahili artifacts stored at the park to help preserve the Swahili culture.
“We have a big space where we will be able to store the artifacts so that whoever walks in here will be able to know who a Swahili is,” Nuru said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)