Caterers lose Sh30 million as devolution conference is cancelled

Tents set up at Makueni Boys, where the 7th devolution conference was supposed to take place in Wote, Makueni County. [File, Standard] 

Local businesspeople are counting losses after the 7th devolution conference that had been planned for Makueni Boys High School starting Monday was cancelled.

Antony Ngunga, the chairman of Lower Eastern Hotels and Caterers Consortium, said they have lost up to Sh30 million.

Ngunga said most of them had already acquired the required supplies ahead of the meeting before they were informed of its postponement.

The investors, some of whom had already set up tents at the venue want, the national government to compensate them.

Most investors had already done everything, from erecting tents to installing huge screens from where delegates would follow the proceedings of the meeting among other arrangements that would also ensure social distancing in respect of the Covid-19 containment measures.

"We want to know why the conference was cancelled. If it was because of Covid-19, then why are politicians still going on with their rallies," Ngunga said of the August 23-26 meeting.

"We have incurred massive losses. We had done our best because we did not want to embarrass visitors," he said.

Ngunga added: "We had invested everything in this conference. The Council of Governors had also made heavy investments towards the meeting. Is the cancellation about Covid-19 or there are people who are playing politics with this matter? We deserve to be compensated." 

Caterer Christine Mutua said she is not sure how she will recover the losses. "I had already put my team together and we had already delivered everything we needed to the venue. Some of the food items are perishable," Ms Mutua said.

She added: "This being a dry area, you can only imagine the investment that went into purchase and transportation of the food items from Nairobi and other places to Makueni. We are asking the government to have mercy on investors here. We've put all our resources in this conference and now it has been cancelled."

Peter Maundu, a hotelier based in Wote town, called on local politicians to stop unnecessary fights which, he said, may have derailed the event.

Alex Maingi, the chairman of the local bar owners association, said they had stocked their bars ahead of the meeting but he is hopeful the conference will happen soon.

The over 1,000 delegates that were expected to attend the conference were to congregate at Wote from Monday.

By Tuesday, many hotels at Wote had recorded full bookings and those who had missed places were seeking accommodation as far as Makindu, Machakos and Kathonzweni.