Business picks up in Lamu, Mombasa after turbulent year

A mother and daughter walk past a gift shop in the resort town of Lamu on June 18, 2014, the week in which the nearby coastal towns of Mpeketoni and Maporomoko suffered deadly al-Shabaab attacks. Local officials say business is now beginning to revive in Lamu County. [Ivan Lieman/AFP]

By Rajab Ramah
Saturday, February 7, 2015

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NAIROBI — Normalcy is returning to Kenya's coastal towns of Lamu and Mombasa after a turbulent 2014 saw the towns suffering the fallout from a succession of al-Shabaab attacks, residents and officials say.

Many business owners say that stability over the December holidays and thus far this year gives them hope that tourism and other business activity that had been on the verge of collapse due to security issues will be revived.

"We had a calm festive season in December as well January and we hope that this will continue going forward," Mombasa and Coast Tourist Association chairperson Mohamed Hersi told Sabahi. "We are happy about this and satisfied with the government's action to bring security under control."

Improved security in Mombasa has seen the number of tourists begin to pick up and chartered flights to the region have begun to resume operations, he said.

"For the better part of last year, most hotels in this region were recording zero bookings and others were even opting to wind down their enterprises," he said. "But the calm experienced in December and in the month of January has seen our industry receive confidence and is now back to profitability, though not at 100%."

Hersi urged county government leaders to continue to work with the national government and avoid "unnecessary disagreements" in order to ensure long-term solutions to the region's security challenges are successfully developed and implemented.

Purchasing power on the mend

Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mombasa chairperson James Mureu said businesses in the region have begun to reap the profits of stability.

"We had been making losses due to increased security risk and the dwindling purchasing power of residents, but now we are seeing a slight shift," he told Sabahi. "Even those businessmen that were planning to relocate due to the security threats are now rethinking their move, and other businesses are willing to set up shop here."

"Now it is upon the security organs of this country to build on this so as to ensure a predictable and tranquil business atmosphere," he said. "The uncertainty witnessed in the past has not been good for businesses. Leaders and government in general also should look for a lasting solution to social problems like jobs, land and other [concerns] that give impetus to insecurity."

Mureu called on the government and leaders in the coastal towns to renew marketing the towns to investors and to restore the region's positive image now that safety has returned to the area.

The government can do this by providing free tours of the region to foreign dignitaries as well as by issuing public service announcements and media segments that detail the security improvements that have been achieved, he said.

"As we demand action from the government, it is also incumbent on politicians to drop the highly charged political overtones that poison the businesses environment," Mureu said, adding that local residents also must share the responsibility and do their part to maintain peace.

"If [citizens] become unruly they are the ones who are on the receiving end when businesses close, rendering their kin jobless," he said.

Mary Omollo, 27, a waitress at the New Moon House in Lamu, said she is happy with the improving security situation.

Last July, she said, she and her colleagues were forced to take unpaid leave due to the sharp decrease in business.

"But after months of joblessness, we were recalled in November to resume duty as the security situation had improved and guests had started streaming in, and until now we have not had a major incident to threaten the business," she told Sabahi.

"We hope this continues so we are not forced out of jobs again," she said.

Lamu curfew partially lifted

Kenya police spokesperson Zipporah Gatiria Mboroki said police have managed to contain the security situation in all the coastal towns and assured investors and locals of their safety.

"As we speak, we have enhanced our operations in all those towns and we are always on high alert to be able to pre-empt any incidents and neutralise any threats," she told Sabahi.

The months-long dusk-to-dawn curfew on Lamu island was lifted after careful review, Mboroki said, but the curfew remains in effect for the time being in other parts of the county where security remains a challenge.

Nonetheless, some security experts and activists caution that it is too early to celebrate, claiming the government has not done enough to assure lasting stability in the region.

Mustafa Ali, executive director of Arigatou International, a faith-based organisation that focuses on children's welfare, said the stability being witnessed in the coastal towns is likely only a temporary reprieve.

"The perceived improved situation is actually a lull," he told Sabahi. "Most radical militant groups that have been behind insecurity in these towns have simply gone underground, and most likely are re-strategizing."

"The lull comes after killings of the radicals' leadership," he said. "Most likely they have new leaders, but are intentionally not saying who it is, in order not to expose them."

Terrorists will resume their activities if they are given the chance to re-group, he warned.

To avoid that, the government should keep up the pressure by remaining vigilant and working more closely with local communities to ensure terrorist elements do not have the opportunity to re-organise themselves.

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