The revelation by Muriithi Ndegwa (head of the Kenya Tourist Board) that the industry is experiencing dwindling international arrivals until after the country’s elections next year should be a cause of concern to the country’s political class. Tourism is one of Kenya’s top earners of foreign exchange, raking in 98 billion shillings last year. During the weeks long post-election violence of 2007/2008, tourists cancelled their bookings while others fled the country, turning beach-front hotels, attractive to Europeans for their competitive prices and relatively short flights, into ghost resorts. The industry lost over 20 billion (shillings) as a result of the violence. It should not be forgotten that during the orgy of violence, the equity market on the Nairobi Stock Exchange lost 40 billion Kenyan Shillings ($591 million) in value on its first day of New Year trading, while the government was losing around 2 billion Shillings ($29.5 million) a day in lost revenue.

The insecurity that has seen both law enforcement agencies and civilians alike killed in gun shoot-outs, grenade explosions and attack by crude weapons without detection and prevention, paints a grim picture to local and international investors. It took long for the country to recover from the economic effects of the violence. If the country has to make gains on the economic strides made so far, both the country’s citizenry and international community need concrete assurance that the country is not cascading to violence. It is therefore imperative that the executive and parliament move with speed to confirm the new Inspector General of Police and team.