DR GITI:Make the annual Ura Gate Cultural Festival more impactful through enabling infrastructure

According to the United Nations Settlements programme (UN Habitat, 2023), culture is primarily associated with the arts, ideas, customs, social behaviour and other human intellectual interactions for any community and people. Culture and heritage can be leveraged for local socio-economic development through empowerment of local artisans, stakeholders, business persons, policy makers and local administrations through promoting their livelihoods. UN Habitat notes that weak policies and toolkits/infrastructure hinders effective utilization and promotion of culture/tourism-based economic development interventions. 

On the other hand, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2024) notes that large scale cultural events can create jobs, support local businesses, raise the profile of places and improve the health and wellbeing of citizens. If these events are planned and organized well, cultural events can have a positive and long-lasting impact on local communities and can play an important role in economic development. They can be a catalyst for policy change and can accelerate investment in infrastructure, as well as playing an important role in county branding and hence an investment attraction process for enhanced rapid socio-economic development. 

Things need to be done. First, there is need to form a firm basis to develop and promote local broader vision of promoting sustainable tourism and stimulating economic growth near and within the location of the Ura Gate cultural centre venue. Secondly, the requisite off-site and on-site infrastructure facilities, conference centre, eco-lodges, tourism sites and related infrastructure should be developed and installed in and around the site of the cultural festivals. In this regard, the first step is the conclusion of the tarmacking of the 71 kilometres Chiakariga-Marimanti-Ura Gate Road. This will open the entire stretch through which the road passes through, the urban areas along it, the schools and other institutions for ease of access for various activities. 

At the same time, water, sewer and on-site infrastructure facilities like conference centres, research hubs and centres, pavilions, markets, high mast security and street lighting, green spaces and centres, recreation grounds, should be developed by the national, county government directly or through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) or joint ventures or other collaborations as deemed fit. Once that is done, there should be deliberate efforts to strategically and effectively bring on board the private sector to develop the needed facilities and projects. This is from the fact that we have immense private sector capital and capacity within and without the country that can invest in impactful projects in the sector; they only require creation of an enabling environment to move in fast. 

In 1993, the World Bank through the “Enabling markets to work strategy” advised governments to create room for the more effective operationalization of the private sector in complementing development projects. County PPP laws and regulations, in line with the national PPP legal framework, can be developed to create a stable legal and regulatory environment to anchor sustainable private sector engagement in accelerating the development of cultural and related aspects to make the event a success. There is need to promote collaboration amongst local authorities, local tourism offices, event organizers and the wider tourism sector to make Ura Gate a success. 

Thirdly, there is need to tie the cultural festivals with the broader agenda of promoting tourism, tourism products and offering diversification so that communities living around and within the county can get value for hosting such a facility. The site borders the Meru National Park, which is part of the Mt. Kenya tourism circuit, which should be marketed more and more products developed and communicated. This is in line with the tourism diversification plan as envisaged under Kenya Vision 2030 and the various development plans and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). 

Consequently, there is continued interest in incorporating events into economic development plan for the county and the national government. The recurring event of Ura Gate cultural celebrations should be incorporated into wider development strategies – for example, as part of tourism, regional attractiveness, and/or community development strategies. 

Fourthly, there is need to leverage Ura Gate cultural events for tourism and socio-economic development through dedicated tourism plans that focus on cultural events, sports tourism, and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) travel that incorporate events into wider strategies. 

Stakeholders have to work together to deliver these objectives for Ura Gate annual festivals to get the meaning it should get. The elected leaders will be required to push the necessary legislation and regulations, the executive will be expected to execute the laws and regulations and the private sector will be expected to partner with the public sector and to put up the horizontal infrastructure to derive the expected meaning of the Ura Gate cultural festival. 

The executive and other stakeholders should develop a master plan for Ura Gate cultural festival. This will guide the orderly transformation of the festival and site to a more sustainable, meaningful, timely, effective, and employment creation opportunities as a result of the festivals.