How Malindi villas benefit locals

By Hans

A while back, a Nairobi based film production company approached me to find accommodation for a small American film crew from Hollywood, Los Angeles. The crew has since April, this year, been shooting a new 20 episode TV series called Animal Planet, all over the world.

Hotel accommodation was not suitable because they mostly worked at night. So I found them an eight-bedroom villa in a quiet residential area. Meals were served at the oddest of times. For instance, snacks could be served between 3am and 4am in the dead of the night. Dinners were mostly eaten on location.

Villas remain one of the biggest employers in Malindi. Consider this: Each villa employs a houseboy, a cook, a gardener, a pool attendant and a security person. That gives an average of five local staff employment throughout the year since the house cannot be left unattended when the owners are absent.

Employment in villas

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Direct cash

On the other hand, villa occupants are more often than not big spenders. They shop for groceries, buy souvenirs and frequent our restaurants, bars and nightspots. This means they bring more direct cash to the local business people compared to tourists staying in the all-inclusive hotels that get to spend little money outside.

I have visited a number of these luxurious villas and I was astonished with the stunning dÈcor and refurbishments. The owners certainly spend fortunes on them. Most of the raw material is either bought or handmade in Malindi. Shopkeepers, therefore, have good business and the local wood and art industry is flourishing.

Malindi is still a favourable place to spend millions on a villa for the Italian beau monde. Italians find it fashionable to own property in other countries. Besides owning property in Kenya, it is not surprising for them to own property in St. Moritz, Switzerland where they ski during winter, and keep a summerhouse in rural Italy where they can enjoy summer with friends and family. Their private villa in Malindi is usually occupied in August, December and January.

If these wealthy investors do not feel welcome in Malindi because of taxes and harassment, they will definitely move on to other places in Africa like Zanzibar, Namibia, Cape Town and lately, Marrakech in Morocco, where the red carpet is readily rolled out for them.

Unfortunately, this sorry trend has already begun, which explains why hundreds of villas are up for sale. If we want to keep and attract investors to the Coast, the relevant authorities must get their act together.