The National Health Department says while there is no cause for panic with the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus in China, it has beefed up surveillance at the country’s ports of entry.

“South Africans are assured that measures are in place to detect, manage and contain any cases of Novel Coronavirus should it come to our shores.

“So far, there are no suspected cases reported. However, due to the current risk of importation of inadvertent cases of 2019-nCoV from Wuhan City – China, Port Health authorities have enhanced surveillance of all travellers from Asia, especially China,” said Health spokesperson Popo Maja.

Fortunately, OR Tambo and Cape Town International Airports are the only Ports of entry with direct flights from Asia.

On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) China office reported a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China.

The cause was confirmed as a Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

Symptoms include fever and a cough with a few patients presenting with difficulty in breathing and bilateral infiltrates on chest X-rays.

As of the 21 January 2020, 270 cases were confirmed including at least four deaths in Wuhan City in China.

In a bid to keep the virus at bay, South Africa has developed and distributed clinical guidelines and case definitions to doctors and nurses in both the public and the private sectors. These include information on how to diagnosis and respond to a possible 2019-nCoV case.

“Provinces have activated outbreak response teams and are on high alert to detect and manage inadvertent cases that may arrive in the country,” said Maja.

Based on currently available information, the World Health Organisation has not recommended any restriction of travel or trade.

“However, the department advises travellers to Wuhan should avoid contact with animals and are encouraged to practice good hand hygiene and cough etiquette in order to reduce the risk of infection with respiratory viruses,” said Maja.

The Health Department also urged the following precautionary measures:

‒ Avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.

‒ Practice frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment.

‒ Avoid visiting markets where live animals are sold.

‒ Travelers with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing and wash hands).

 ‒ Health practitioners should provide travellers with information to reduce the general risk of acute respiratory infections, via travel health clinics, travel agencies, conveyance operators and at points of entry.

In case of symptoms suggestive of respiratory illness before, during or after travel, the department advised travellers to seek medical attention and share travel history with their healthcare provider.

Our Source: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/sa-beefs-surveillance-amid-coronavirus-outbreak

Expansion and modernisation of the dilapidated Itembe airstrip in Bomet County has been hampered by lack of land.

The Kenya Airports Authority requires 40 acres for expansion and upgrade of the airstrip in a project that would see the runway expanded to 1.2km to meet the set international standards for such a facility.

The runway, which has been in poor state for the last 28 years, has been reduced to a training ground by driving schools, a cattle grazing field by villagers and a children’s playing pitch.

Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) General Manager Fred Odawo in charge of projects engineering services, said the planned upgrade would not proceed until the national or county governments bought the required.

“Currently the airstrip land is 13.5 acres with a one kilometre runway. There is an urgent need for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport at the national government to purchase the land for the expansion,” said Mr Odawo.

Alternatively, he said the county government could volunteer to buy the land which has been identified and mapped for expansion of the facility located about three kilometres from Bomet town, and off the Silibwet-Kapkwen road.

Mr Odawo told Shipping & Logistics at the weekend that the upgrade would entail construction of a runway, an apron and terminal at the disused airstrip.

Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok urged the national government to set aside funds to purchase the land for expansion.

“Surveying of the land has been done alongside its valuation. We are appealing to the national government to allocate funds for the upgrade of the airstrip as a matter of urgency,” said Dr Barchok.

In the 2017/2018 financial year Sh125 million was allocated for the airstrip upgrade by the national Treasury, while in 2018/2019 fiscal Sh63 million was budgeted for the project.

However, half of the money has since been returned to the Treasury and KAA has Sh81.5 million in its coffers for the works.

“For years, the facility was key to evacuating patients on emergency basis from Tenwek hospital for specialised treatment in various hospitals in Nairobi and outside the country but has remained in a state of disuse for more than two decades as the runway is dilapidated,” said Mr Wesley Kiprotich, Bomet Deputy Speaker.

Mr Kiprotich said upgrade of the facility would make it easier for tourists to utilise it while travelling to and from the Maasai Mara in the neighbouring Narok County.

“Upgrade of the facility would also result in creation of direct and indirect job opportunities for the region’s residents. We are appealing to the national government to allocate money for purchase of the required land to expand the airstrip,” said Mr Kiprotich.

On September, 13, 2017, shortly after assuming office, the late former Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso toured the airstrip with officers from the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) led by Engineer Joel Wagai, and officers from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).

The officials promised that the authority and the county government would immediately embark on modernisation of the facility.

Meanwhile the airstrip remains a shadow of its former self. Two uninhabited and rundown staff houses stand in the facility, along with cracked pit latrines, a wind soak compass, a gate and a fence that has been completely pulled down on one side.

Until early this year, the runway was used as a diversionary route by motorists as the main road was in a bad state, and also during the upgrade to bitumen standard of the Silibwet-Kapkwen road.

Upon its upgrade, which is now in limbo, the facility would make it easy for local and foreign tourists to travel from Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret to access the South Rift’s tourism circuit.

Tenwek hospital previously used the airstrip to transport medical and non-medical supplies channelled to the health facility by donors in the United States.

It was also utilised to evacuate patients to referral hospitals in Nairobi.

Leonard Langat, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bomet branch chairman said there is an urgent need to upgrade the airstrip so as to boost business in the South Rift.

“With the high demand for avocados and green peas in the world market, and with the high investment in the horticulture sector in the region, Itembe airstrip would come in handy in easing transportation of the perishable goods to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for onwards freight to Europe and Asia,” said Mr Langat.

Our source:  https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/shipping/land-bomet-airstrip-upgrade/4003122-5435198-tce67f/index.html

National carrier Kenya Airways plans to send home some of its workers as its nationalisation starts in the next few days.

The airline’s acting chief executive Allan Kilavuka in a memo to staff last week said the layoffs and restructuring “is part of Operation Pride turnaround programme”, KQ’s chosen route to profitability.

“Roles will change; some maybe enriched while others are merged. I also want to be clear that as difficult as it is, some roles will disappear altogether, resulting in redundancies,” said Mr Kilavuka in the letter to employees, a copy which was seen by the Business Daily.

Mr Kilavuka has, however, pledged to make the planned redundancy humane “and will involve relevant stakeholders as required by the law.”

The planned retrenchment has sparked sharp reaction from the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (Kawu).

Kawu Union secretary-general Moss Ndiema in a letter to the airline says sending workers home will not address the “perennial financial malady currently facing the carrier.”

Instead, Mr Ndiema says, mismanagement and corruption at the airline ought to be addressed for a return to profitability.

He further argues that the airline is yet to notify the union of its intention to send home workers, adding that KQ must stop the exercise until the right procedure for layoff is arrived at.

“In view of the above, we urge you to put on hold the restructuring exercise, pending joint consultation between parties as envisaged by the law,” Mr Ndiema says in the January 28 letter.

The airline is planning to send home workers barely a month after it issued a profit warning for the year ending December, signalling its losses will widen beyond the Sh7.56 billion the national carrier posted last year.

This will sink it deeper in the red. The airline is already nursing half-year losses that more than doubled to Sh8.56 billion, complicating the recovery prospects.

The airline last reported a profit in 2012 when it closed with net earnings of Sh1.66 billion. Its worst performance was in 2016 when it booked a Sh26.2 billion loss. In 2017, it recorded a Sh10.2 billion loss.

Our Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/economy/KQ-to-lay-off-staff-in-restructuring/3946234-5435488-oxcevb/index.html

Direct flights to New York and new routes opened up by Kenya Airways  helped to lift visitor numbers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, shoring up tourism earnings.

Kenya Airways introduced over three new routes last year including Italy and Geneva, a move that has impacted positively on arrivals at the Kenya’s main port of entry, according to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA).

According to data from KAA, passenger numbers at the JKIA grew from 738,861 in 2018 December to 785,861 in the review period.

However, in the same month, regional airports, especially along the coastal towns registered a decline in number of passengers in what KAA attributes to low tourism activities.

But on overall, the number of passengers who used the airports went down in December, compared with the corresponding period last year, weighed down by low numbers in regional airports.

The number of passengers served by the airports in December this year was 1,093,401. This was a decline of about 5.4 percent compared to the traffic attained during the same month in 2018.

“It was only JKIA that managed to register some notable increase tied to the New York route as well as the new destinations in Europe such as Geneva and Fiumicino,” says KAA.

“Much of the decline in numbers was attributable to the coastal stations, namely Mombasa International Airport, Malindi, Ukunda and Manda tied to slower uptake of tourism related activities,” added the agency.

KAA says Ukunda and Manda Airstrips had fewer passengers mainly as a result of constrained charter operations, particularly by Air Kenya and East African Safari Air on the Ukunda-Wilson route.

It is around the same time when Silverstone Air pulled out of the market following a number of mishaps involving the carrier, which saw the regulator stall a number of its aircraft, before the airline eventually halted its operations.

According to the recent report from the Ministry of Tourism, US was one of the countries that registered higher number of tourism to Kenya, a move that helped in lifting earnings.

According to official data, revenue from tourism rose to Sh163.6 billion in 2019 from Sh157.4 billion recorded in 2018.

The direct US flights, launched in October 2018, are to date the most marketed route since Kenya Airways began its turnaround plan. The flights now offer the fastest connection from East Africa to New York City.

Former KQ chief executive Sebastian Mikosz said last year that while the Nairobi-New York route was crucial for the national carrier’s growth and positioning in the region, it would not form KQ’s financial lifeline.

“I do not consider it to be a lucrative route. There is nothing lucrative about flying to New York. The route is necessary but difficult,” Mr Mikosz said last year.

“New York is performing in the range that we expected. It is feeding our African network. It positions us differently.”

At least 105,084 passengers have been flown on the route in the past one year in the 594 flights made on New York route between October 2018 and November 2019.

KQ initially targeted a daily flight on the route but it cut to five days a week later, citing low demand during the winter season in the US.

The airline, however, resumed daily flight in June on the summer holiday peak to cater for high demand by American tourists visiting East Africa.

The half-year cumulative passenger numbers served at the airports to December 2019 were 6.5 million, a 2.2 percent increase when compared to the half-year position for last year.

Our Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/shipping/Direct-New-York-flights-lift-JKIA-tourism-arrivals/4003122-5435204-seac9k/index.html

 

Britain has agreed to abolish travel advisories that it has been imposing on Kenya over the years, pointing out that they are not good for the country’s economy.

The move was reached following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s bilateral talks with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London on Tuesday.

“What happens when these travel advisories are issued is that there are job losses especially in the tourism sector presenting an opportunity for radicalisation of our young people,” Mr Kenyatta said.

Mr Kenyatta and the British PM also agreed that the two countries would continue to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.

“We would like to partner in combating terrorists. These criminals have continued to cause harm to our people and it is about time we combined forces to fight back,” President Kenyatta said.

Mr Johnson acknowledged that Kenya has borne the brunt of terrorism and there was need to join forces to curb the menace.

He said the British military training outpost in Nanyuki will continue to train Kenyan officers as a way of bolstering the military partnership between the two countries.

UK issued a travel advisory recently to its citizens visiting Kenya, warning that terrorists might try to carry out attacks. The alert followed a terrorist attack on Manda-Magogoni military base used by both US and Kenyan forces on Manda Bay Island in Lamu. The attack by Somalia-based Al Shabaab militants left three Americans – one US military servicemember and two contractors – dead.

The British government advised its citizens to be vigilant when visiting areas frequented by foreigners including hotels, sporting events, shopping centres, coastal areas including beaches, and transport hubs.

UK is the fourth leading source of international tourists to Kenya, last year having contributed to the 3,9 percent growth of tourism earnings which stood at Sh163.6 billion and arrivals remaining above the two-million mark.

ENERGY

Mr Kenyatta and Mr Johnson also discussed partnerships between the two countries in green technology investments, an area the UK has made significant milestones.

British PM said the UK is particularly interested in helping Kenya achieve its objective of attaining 100 percent to green energy sources.

“We are doing well on renewable energy and certainly we would like to partner with you,” said Mr Johnson.

Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/news/UK-agrees-to-abolish-travel-advisories-against-Kenya/539546-5427046-mw2cqvz/index.html

 

The hustle associated with acquiring a Kenyan passport will soon come to an end after the Ministry of Interior assured Kenyans of quicker services come July, 1, 2020.

Kenyans applying for passports, Identity Cards, birth and death certificates in Nairobi will be issued on the same day. Those applying from outside the capital city will however wait for a while longer.

Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi who was speaking in Mombasa during the recently held National Security and Development Forum assured Kenyans of improved citizen services.

The pilot program is part of a 10-point plan for 2020/ 2021 that will see Kenyans have access to better government services.

This comes as a relief to many Kenyans who will now not have to wait for long to book their travel due to the easily accessible passports.

The Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) welcomed the move and urged travelers to secure their passports and book their travel through the trusted KATA agents.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services through their official twitter handle have provided a safer avenue for the public to report immigration fraud.

They urged the public not to post personal info on self or anyone else on their social media pages but instead to direct the complaints through https://www.uscis.gov/report-fraud

 

The Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) has welcomed the move by the government to nationalise Kenya Airways (KQ).

KATA Chief Executive Ms. Agnes Mucuha said that the national carrier has a huge potential to turn around, and urged that their management should focus on extending themselves to their customers, by maximizing the customer’s benefits while taking responsibility for their outcomes.

The Kenyan parliament voted in July, 2019 for the nationalisation of KQ. The airline, which was privatised 23 years ago sunk into debt after incurring losses over the years. The government owns 48.9 percent while Air France- KLM owns 7.8 percent stake of the airline.

“The world today operates in a connection economy, and in the absence of Kenya Airways, travel would become very expensive due to decreased load capacity and increased hub operating costs, hindering the attractiveness of Kenya as a regional aviation hub. Consequently, the Nairobi hub would experience decreased passenger demand for travel, and in the long-run the Nairobi hub would cease being attractive in the region,” Ms. Mucuha stated.

As a strategic partner, she added, KATA welcomed the news of the planned nationalisation of the carrier because Kenya Airways contributes positively to Kenya’s economy and provides job opportunities for many.  Most importantly it has created a market place for the Travel Agents to promote Kenya Airways products and services contributing to the successful growth of their Travel Agencies.

“As Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA), we recognize that it requires a different mindset, to turnaround Kenya Airways, and we reaffirm our support to working together, towards helping Kenya Airways leave a better legacy for our future Travel generations.” She further said.

Parliament voted to approve the recommendations by the Transport Committee chaired by Pokot South Legislator David Pkosing to have a holding company with four subsidiaries.

These are the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), Kenya Airways and an aviation college. The holding company will be exempt from tax for a set period of time.

Many other governments worldwide faced with almost similar situations have stepped in to revive and save their ailing carriers. This is because aviation is a global industry and a key aspect in the generation of revenue for a country.

These airlines have received support from their state governments through a well laid out strategy and funds injected to ensure the revival and sustainable survival of struggling airlines.

For instance, in our neighbouring country Uganda, it took the government’s intervention to bring back the Uganda Airlines after it faced liquidation and closed shop in 2001.

Several attempts to revive the airline through private sector firms failed. However, in March, 2019, the Ugandan Parliament put in motion a request for a supplementary budget of Ush 280 billion to buy new planes, bringing the carrier back in business after 20 years.

In South Africa, the national carrier also had its fair share of challenges running the airline which led to slow economic growth and lack of revenue for the country.

To alleviate the situation, the government issued two billion Rand (USD 136 million) from existing lenders ahead of the business rescue, and another 2 billion rand through the country’s national treasury. The airline was also put under business rescue to avoid being liquidated by creditors.

In Pakistan, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) submitted a 5-year strategic business plan for 2019- 2023. According to Dawn News, the airline’s CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik said they were developing a plan on cost cutting and revenue generation for the revival of the national carrier.

After about nine months on suspension, SA Tourism CEO Sisa Ntshona told Fin24 he has “mixed feelings of anger” as he heads back to his old office again next week.

Fin24 reported at the beginning of April 2019 that Ntshona was surprised when he was informed by the board of SAT that they were investigating allegations against him and that he would be placed on precautionary suspension. It was never publicly announced what these allegations were.

Ntshona himself said he was only informed of their nature after some time.

The allegations had been received via SAT’s anonymous tip-offs reporting mechanism and the board felt the precautionary suspension was necessary in order to enable it to conduct a free and fair investigation. Sthembiso Dlamini became the acting CEO.

In mid-December, SAT announced that the investigation cleared Ntshona of all charges and that he would return immediately.

“The Board welcomes back Mr Ntshona and looks forward to continue working with him as we seek to grow tourist arrivals in our sector and to build a stable organisation,” an SAT statement said at the time.

‘This has set us back’. “Many people ask me how I see the period I was suspended. I have mixed emotions of anger. This set us back as a tourism sector and tarnished my reputation. It was unnecessary, but now I to look ahead on the path and see how we can deliver to the country what we promise as SA Tourism,” Ntshona told Fin24 on Monday.

“I look forward to delivering to SA and to the tourism industry. Key for me is to get up to speed with what is going on in the sector as soon as possible.”

His aim is to hit the ground running and spend time speaking to those involved in the tourism industry – both in the public en private sector.

He plans to meet with various tourism bodies and agencies on both a local, provincial and national level. He will also meet with the various airlines to get a sense of their activity levels.

“I want to get up to speed in a couple of weeks and want to hear from the tourism industry itself how they see things and how to get some energy going. This is because the key thing is to pick up momentum and quicken the pace on some important issues to work on so that the tourism industry can continue to contribute to the South African economy,” he said.

In his view the industry is going in the right direction with the changes to the unabridged birth certificate requirement and a pilot project on e-visas.

“I now want to see the impact of these changes on the industry. The world is not standing still, and we have to keep up the pace.”

Asked how he intends to “sell” SA as a tourism destination to the world, Ntshona said it is about “sharpening our communication to the world and making sure we can reflect all that SA has to offer”.

Asked about the negative impact of safety and security incidents, he said these are unfortunate events that happen – as it does all over the world – but that it is about how quickly the industry can react and address it.

“SA offers such a wonderful opportunity and something for everybody, from safaris, beaches, relaxation and culinary experiences. We need a serious re-energising campaign for the industry,” he said.

Our Source: https://www.atqnews.com/ng/sa-tourism-ceo-returns-after-9-month-suspension/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=South+African+Tourism+CEO+Returns+To+His+Post+After+Suspension&utm_campaign=20200121_m156531124_ATQ+New+Edition-334&utm_term=Learn+more

In a statement dated Friday 17, KAA said, “In order to improve passenger experience at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Kenya Airports Authority wishes to notify the general public of the temporary closure of selected traffic lanes at the airport’s main entrance from Saturday 18th January, 2020.”

“This is to facilitate the installation of a new car park management system,” explained the statement.

“The closure has been scheduled during the off-peak hours of 0830HRS to 1300HRS and 2300HRS to 0430HRS so as to minimize the impact on airport operations,” said KAA.

Normal traffic flow is expected to resume by Thursday, 23rd January, 2020. KAA says that during this period, the airport’s Cargo Gate will remain open for 24 hours to ease traffic.

The authority has said it will work closely with the Kenya Airports Police Unit (KAPU) to assist with the management of traffic flow at the airport.

Motorists and passengers are advised to plan accordingly and allow extra time when coming to the airport as delays may be experienced.

Our Source: https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2020/01/kaa-announces-closure-of-section-of-jkia-entrance/

Tourist destinations in the coastal town of Lamu remain safe despite the recent attack, the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) has said.

KATA Chief Executive Ms Agnes Mucuha reiterated statements by other tourism industry players who maintained that tourist destinations in Lamu are safe.

The Kenya Tourism Federation Chairman Mr Mohamed Hersi, in a statement issued last week assured the public that the tourist attraction in Lamu is a small fraction of the entire county which is safe. He added that the areas usually targeted by radicals are small and far from the tourist sites.

He added that the tourist sites in Lamu have always been safe and are accessed through a flight to Manda mainland and across the channel to the island.

On the other hand, Iran through their embassy in Nairobi pledged not to drag Kenya into its wrangles with the US. The head of the political department at the Iranian Department, Mr Tohid Afzali, in a press briefing last week assured the public that Iran will maintain a closer relationship with Kenya.

Tourists and travellers, Ms Mucuha further said, who are planning holidays in the coastal town and any other destination in the country should be assured of their safety as Kenya is a peaceful and safe country.

Travellers are encouraged to book their holidays through KATA certified members, who are professional, accessible and operate under a strict code of conduct.

KATA is working collectively with other industry players for the growth of travel and tourism in the country.