EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Urban Economic Plan (UEP) is an advisory document that builds on existing work and priorities identified under the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), the Integrated Strategic Urban Development Plan (ISUDP), the Municipal Development Plan, and the Spatial Development Plan, as well as aligning and complementing work done by other donors and organisations. In doing so, it will provide a focused urban and economic development strategy for the Municipal Board and Departments to deliver balanced and sustainable growth for Malindi Municipality. The purpose of the plan is to: › provide an inclusive economic strategy that can guide future development towards increasing prosperity in Malindi; › prioritise economic activities and climate resilient infrastructure that can maximise benefits and support the development of a sustainable economic future of Malindi; › bring together stakeholders on deciding the economic future of Malindi and implementing it; and › identify and prepare projects that can be considered further in terms of their feasibility and bankability before SUED seed financing is committed.
Stakeholders’ interests and insights have been considered throughout the development of the Malindi Municipality UEP. Section 2 of this document sets out the Diagnostic Assessment of Malindi, where the social, economic, infrastructure and environmental baseline has provided an understanding of the barriers and drivers to sustainable economic growth. There has been rapid population growth which has not been matched with effective urban planning and development, where infrastructure provision has been inadequate and the supporting sectoral and market linkages limited. The Social Inclusion Study was a key part of the diagnostic, providing recommendations for meeting the aims of the SUED programme - to advance inclusion of PWDs, women and youth - as well as other identified groups who are currently excluded. The prioritised projects embed recommendations for overcoming communication, physical, attitudinal and organisational barriers to inclusion. The diagnostic identified Key Sectors that Malindi should prioritise for development, as: › Agriculture › Fishing › Tourism › Industry and Trade
Through the diagnostics assessment it has been shown that tourism remains a core potential offering for the town. It is also a key objective of the Kilifi County to increase tourism spend within the county through a tourism strategy implementation. This UEP includes a Tourism Action Plan (TAP), the aim of which is to build on this strategic direction and develop a series of interventions that can advance the tourism offer within Malindi. It will therefore be important to base this plan on the comparative and competitive advantages of the town that differentiate from other destinations within Kenya and focus on developing some of its unique characteristics such as the strong cultural and natural environments the town has to offer. Malindi’s aspirations to revitalise its tourism sector must be complemented by a suitable strategy that helps the town become more resilient to cyclical market trends. As such, the UEP also includes a Diversification Action Plan (DAP) which considers opportunities and activities within the other identified Key sectors. Addressing these challenges can enable the town to establish itself as an effective multifunctioning centre, and lay foundations for sustainable economic growth.
Section 3 presents the Economic Development Plan. This is driven by the economic vision that has been developed for Malindi:
“Developing a diverse Blue-Green Economy whilst harnessing and managing Malindi’s abundant natural resources”. This vision is underlined with objectives to: › Ensure resilient and resource efficient urban and economic growth; › Create an attractive and vibrant business environment; › Develop an enabling and responsive Municipal organisation; › Promote opportunities for all members of the community.
