The government has temporarily lifted a ban that barred private hotels from hosting meetings as a way of stopping further spread of Covid-19.
The lifting of the ban means Kenyans will now be allowed to have meetings in private hotels provided they observe measures put in place by the Ministry of Health.
National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani said the move to lift the ban on meetings in private hotels is part of the government’s initiative to help resurrect the hotel sector that has been hit hard by the pandemic.
“Tourism is one of the hard-hit sectors in the economy. This is reflected by the massive cancellation of hotel bookings. The resulting effect has been an increased job and income loss,” said the CS.
Since the announcement of the first Covid-19 case in Kenya in March, the hotel sector became among the first casualties of the pandemic. Most hotels shut down and fired their employees. Some send their employees to unpaid leave.
The government has also waived both parking and landing fees at all airports in Kenya to facilitate both the movement of people and cargo in an effort to resurrect the economy. Passenger flights in and out of the country are still suspended.
The tourism sector has been allocated 5 billion shillings to cushion it against the effects of Covid-19. Stakeholders are waiting to see how the cash will be shared within the sector so as to benefit all across the board. This being Kenya, the cash might even go to one or two “private citizens.
For hotels to fully become functional, the government will have to ensure that they get the cash allocated to them, allow visitors to access the country after being tested of Covid-19, and ensuring that the economy is sustainable.
Millions of Kenyans have lost their jobs and they need anything that will make them see tomorrow.