'Balala ni balaa,' Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja slams Tourism CS

Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja has hit out at Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala calling him an obstacle preventing the county from exploiting its full resource potential.

According to Governor Samboja, despite Taita Taveta being home to many tourist attractions and national parks, area residents are not benefitting in any way and CS Balala is largely to blame.

“Most of the land here is reserved for wildlife parks but the people from Taita are not getting anything,” Samboja said when he addressed residents on Wednesday.

“Balala ni balaa tupu hata sijui mabadiliko ya juzi kwa nini Uhuru alimwacha.”

Samboja also revealed that President Uhuru Kenyatta had ordered the Tourism CS to organize a town hall to discuss how residents can profit from the various tourism initiatives in the county, only for the CS to allegedly ignore the decree.

“We have sat down with Kenyatta and he has ordered Balala to indulge us so that we can see what share we will get from these parks for the benefit of the Taita people but every time Balala postpones the meetings,” Samboja added.

The Taita Taveta Governor consequently insisted that county officials will continue pushing to ensure that the people of the area are given what they are owed.

“It doesn’t matter how long it will take. The late Ole Ntimama fought hard until Narok National Park was turned into a game reserve. These days it is those millions that help the people of Narok and we want the same for our constituents,” Samboja said.