MPs demand clarity on Bomas Sh4.5bn project funds

Members of Parliament have blocked a Sh4.5 billion allocation that the National Treasury had directed to be set aside for the renovation of Bomas of Kenya.

The funds were to be drawn from the Tourism Promotion Fund, a move that has sparked sharp reactions and led to a stand-off between Parliament and the Treasury.

The National Assembly Tourism and Wildlife Committee has now summoned Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to explain the directive.

This came after Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano appeared before the committee and revealed she had questioned the same directive.

"I have sought answers from my Cabinet colleague over the directive," she said.

Tourism Principal Secretary John Ololtuaa defended the ministry’s budget for the 2025/26 financial year, but MPs insisted that the committee would not approve the Tourism Promotion Fund budget until there is a clear explanation of how the money is being used.

"We will hold onto the approval of the Tourism Promotion Fund budget until such a time that we are told the projects they are doing. We need clarity on this ringfencing of funds for the Bomas of Kenya project," said committee chair Kareke Mbiuki.

"We are not ready to be used by the Executive as rubber stamps for white elephant projects."

What caught the committee by surprise was that Bomas of Kenya is not under the Tourism ministry, but instead falls under the Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage, as per Executive Order No. 2 of 2023.

This revelation raised further questions over the Treasury’s decision to divert tourism funds to a project that falls outside the mandate of the State Department for Tourism.

Adding to the concerns is the fact that the renovation of Bomas is already being handled by Turkish firm Summa Turizm Yatirimciligi Sirketi at a reported cost of Sh31.6 billion.

MPs also expressed frustration that key agencies within the Tourism Department remain underfunded.

Among them is the Ronald Ngala Utalii College in Kilifi County, which remains incomplete more than 15 years since construction began.

Initially launched in 2007, the college was intended to boost hospitality training in the region and was expected to be finished by 2019.

However, it has been delayed due to Exchequer challenges.

Despite the importance of the sector, institutions like the Tourism Research Institute, which is supposed to manage tourism statistics and data, also face funding gaps.

This is even as tourism remains one of the top three sources of government revenue, after diaspora remittances and agriculture.

In 2023, the tourism sector brought in Sh452.2 billion, with projections indicating the figure could rise to Sh560 billion this year, according to Treasury data. This has further strengthened MPs’ demand for transparency in the use of tourism funds.

"Why surrender its resources to finance the Bomas of Kenya renovations. Was it a priority in the first place? We want to be part of history," Mbiuki said.

The committee admitted it had in the past allowed the Tourism Promotion Fund to spend its collections without much scrutiny, but said the recent developments have raised serious red flags.