Najib Balala, Secretary of Tourism, Kenya

Honorable Najib Balala, EGH, was born in 1967 and is trained in International Urban Management at the University of Toronto, Canada. He underwent the Executive Program for Leaders in Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  

Hon Balala was re-appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Tourism & Wildlife by H.E. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, CGH, President of the Republic of Kenya in 2017, having served as a Cabinet Secretary for various Ministries (Cabinet Secretary for Tourism (2015-2017), Cabinet Secretary for Mining (2013-2015) Minister for Tourism (2008-2012). During his tenure in the Ministry for Mining, he engineered the drafting of the Draft Mining Bill in 2014, the first policy and institutional framework review of Kenya’s mining sector since 1940. Hon. Balala served simultaneously as Member of Parliament for Mvita Constituency, Mombasa,  

Hon Balala is the Chairman of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Commission for Africa a position he served earlier in 2011.  He was voted Best Tourism Minister in Africa in 2009 by Africa Investor (AI). 

He is credited with steering Kenya’s tourism sector to recovery following the crisis period following various Terrorism attacks between 2007-2015 and the postelection violence in 2008. He played a significant role in boosting Tourism growth and stability in Kenyan and Africa regional tourism sector. He works closely with private and institutional investors, conservation and regional development agencies to ensure that the economic potential of Tourism and Wildlife sectors was both prudently and sustainably managed.