SRC engages Naivasha hoteliers over move to downgrade town

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has moved in to engage hoteliers in Naivasha over the move to downgrade the town amid reports of a drop in bed occupancy.

The commission said that it was waiting for a petition from the hoteliers while conducting its research before issuing a directive on the way forward.

This came as it emerged that bed occupancy in the lakeside town has dropped from 85 to 37 per cent in the last two years following the review of the town’s status.

Under the recently gazetted rates, Nakuru was been ranked together with Mombasa, Kisumu and Nairobi while Naivasha falls under the lower cluster.

Addressing the press after meeting the hoteliers in Lake Naivasha Resort, Commissioner John Monyoncho said that they were keen to resolve the current impasse.

He said that other towns like Malindi and Diani were also affected by the decision to review the daily subsistence rates for public service officers.

“We have listened to the grievances of the hoteliers and we are waiting for their petition and doing our internal research before making our decision,” he said.

Monyoncho said that they were keen to operate within the law adding that the town status had not been downgraded as claimed by the hoteliers.

“This is an old issue that will be resolved between us and we even have requests from other towns and counties and we are reviewing this,” he said.

On his part, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui admitted that investors were incurring losses due to the impasse around the daily subsistence rates.

He was however quick to deny that the move to downgrade the town status was related to the upgrading of Nakuru into a City.

“The issue of downgrading Naivasha dates back to 2015 and we are grateful that SRC has agreed to engage the stakeholders so as to find the way forward,” he said.

He termed Naivasha as a hub of business and conference in the country adding that the hospitality sector supported thousands and hence the need to protect it.

The Chairman Nakuru County Tourism Association David Mwangi said the hospitality sector had been adversely affected by the downgrading adding that they were working on a petition.

He said that they were keen to address the current impasse as millions of shillings had been invested in the hospitality sector.

“Already bed occupancy in Naivasha has reduced from 85 to 37 per cent mainly due to the decision to reduce the daily subsistence rates,” he said.

Last month, the state agency released new daily subsistence allowances for local travel and per diem rates for Nakuru after it was elevated into a City.

The daily rates for Nakuru were raised to Ksh 22,000 for the top officers and Ksh 4,200 for the lowest while those staying in Naivasha will get Ksh 18,000 and Ksh 3,500 respectively.