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- Jan 23, 2014
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Machakos taps into Nairobi's fan pool
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Dancers entertain guests at the Peoples Park in Machakos County for an event on June 2, 2014. Photo/courtesy
By EVELYN SITUMA
Posted Thursday, June 5 2014 at 17:23
In Summary
It's the curiosity and anticipation of visiting Machakos People's Park that saw Japheth Kavondi take part in a Safari Rally event held early in the year.
"I went with the expectation of seeing the park. I wanted to see what it was about the park that had people talking. My friends, who had visited Machakos, were simply bowled over by the park. I also saw pictures they posted online and decided I had to visit to see for myself the reason why suddenly, Machakos was on everyone's lips," says Japheth.
The Safari Rally event sponsored by Kenya Commercial Bank and hosted in Machakos was the chance that would give Philip a chance to fulfil his dream. "I must admit that I was very impressed at how green the park was yet the weather was hot with no rain," he says of the new park in Machakos. Constructing the park was idea of the governor, Dr Alfred Mutua.
The hype around development in Machakos County has attracted large numbers of people to the town most of whom are residents from neighbouring counties, especially Nairobi and Kiambu who are looking for a place to unwind and have fun not too far from civilization.
The 40-acre Machakos People's Park, the recently renovated Kenyatta Stadium, security systems and equipment as well as the county government's initiative to enhance agriculture, upgrade infrastructure and promote Machakos as a sporting, entertainment and cultural tourism hub, are among major developments that are seeing Kenyans from all walks of life, jam the town on weekends and public holidays.
Although the governor says they have not yet calculated the revenues generated so far from tourism in the county, he estimates the traffic of people to be around 35,000 every weekend.
Japheth is among hundreds of Kenyans discovering Machakos each day. Filled with curiosity and the need to sample new things, Kenyans are heading out in numbers to Machakos making it what one would call the most visited county by locals so far.
Corporates
Local tourists flocking to Machakos are visiting the town for recreation, concerts and major sporting events.
During the Madaraka Day celebrations, Philip Wahome, MultiChoice Kenya corporate communications manager and Coca- Cola teamed up to celebrate the World Cup in a fun even dubbed‘ #Brazil2Macha fun fest' where they held an exciting mini parade mimicking the Rio Festival parade.
The two corporates say they settled on Machakos for the World Cup football launch for a number of reasons. Firstly, the proximity of Machakos to Nairobi, just 30 minutes' drive away offered the two corporatess an opportunity to serve residents of both counties.
Secondly, the highly visible branding the county had created for entertainment and sporting was no doubt an attraction in itself. They also were amazed at the warm welcome from the county officials.
"Machakos County has a welcoming government with good security. Immediately we shared our idea, the minister for tourism put together a committee for the event and gave us weekly updates on the preparations. They also took us on a site visit, showed us the CCTV surveillance cameras and the number of security personnel who would be available for our event. Without a doubt, we were convinced that Machakos was the place we wanted to be," says Philip.
Early in the year, the county purchased 120 police cars, 40 security dogs and 500 CCTV cameras to enhance security.
Events
The governor's presence at the park on the second day of the event and his full participation in the organisation of the event, is what impressed the Coca Cola, DStv, GOtv and Super Sport teams most.
1 | 2 | 3 Next Page»
By EVELYN SITUMA
he drone flying over Machakos stadium
Posted Thursday, June 5 2014 at 17:23
In Summary
- Local tourists flocking to Machakos are visiting the town for recreation, concerts and major sporting events.
- With simple things targeting local Kenyans first and not foreigners, Mutua's dream is having a far reaching implication for this town.
- Machakos County will by the end of September begin to lay infrastructure, in preparation for the construction of its modern city.
It's the curiosity and anticipation of visiting Machakos People's Park that saw Japheth Kavondi take part in a Safari Rally event held early in the year.
"I went with the expectation of seeing the park. I wanted to see what it was about the park that had people talking. My friends, who had visited Machakos, were simply bowled over by the park. I also saw pictures they posted online and decided I had to visit to see for myself the reason why suddenly, Machakos was on everyone's lips," says Japheth.
The Safari Rally event sponsored by Kenya Commercial Bank and hosted in Machakos was the chance that would give Philip a chance to fulfil his dream. "I must admit that I was very impressed at how green the park was yet the weather was hot with no rain," he says of the new park in Machakos. Constructing the park was idea of the governor, Dr Alfred Mutua.
The hype around development in Machakos County has attracted large numbers of people to the town most of whom are residents from neighbouring counties, especially Nairobi and Kiambu who are looking for a place to unwind and have fun not too far from civilization.
The 40-acre Machakos People's Park, the recently renovated Kenyatta Stadium, security systems and equipment as well as the county government's initiative to enhance agriculture, upgrade infrastructure and promote Machakos as a sporting, entertainment and cultural tourism hub, are among major developments that are seeing Kenyans from all walks of life, jam the town on weekends and public holidays.
Although the governor says they have not yet calculated the revenues generated so far from tourism in the county, he estimates the traffic of people to be around 35,000 every weekend.
Japheth is among hundreds of Kenyans discovering Machakos each day. Filled with curiosity and the need to sample new things, Kenyans are heading out in numbers to Machakos making it what one would call the most visited county by locals so far.
Corporates
Local tourists flocking to Machakos are visiting the town for recreation, concerts and major sporting events.
During the Madaraka Day celebrations, Philip Wahome, MultiChoice Kenya corporate communications manager and Coca- Cola teamed up to celebrate the World Cup in a fun even dubbed‘ #Brazil2Macha fun fest' where they held an exciting mini parade mimicking the Rio Festival parade.
The two corporates say they settled on Machakos for the World Cup football launch for a number of reasons. Firstly, the proximity of Machakos to Nairobi, just 30 minutes' drive away offered the two corporatess an opportunity to serve residents of both counties.
Secondly, the highly visible branding the county had created for entertainment and sporting was no doubt an attraction in itself. They also were amazed at the warm welcome from the county officials.
"Machakos County has a welcoming government with good security. Immediately we shared our idea, the minister for tourism put together a committee for the event and gave us weekly updates on the preparations. They also took us on a site visit, showed us the CCTV surveillance cameras and the number of security personnel who would be available for our event. Without a doubt, we were convinced that Machakos was the place we wanted to be," says Philip.
Early in the year, the county purchased 120 police cars, 40 security dogs and 500 CCTV cameras to enhance security.
Events
The governor's presence at the park on the second day of the event and his full participation in the organisation of the event, is what impressed the Coca Cola, DStv, GOtv and Super Sport teams most.
1 | 2 | 3 Next Page»
