Wednesday,
November 08,
On the Beach in "Little
The
ANNOTICO Report
In
the early 1976, the first Italian came to work at San Marco Space Centre at
The
Italians could not help but notice the virgin
The
Italians have since bought up 2500 beach parcels, which has
driven the prices up 8 to 16 times their previous value, but is still only 40%
of what they would have to pay in
An MP of Italian heritage? Yes. One Mr Franco Esposito, a former chief executive officer with
the San Marco Space Centre in Ngomeni area, has declared
his candidature for the Magarini Parliamentary seat.
The
seasonal "dual" marriage is an interesting phenomenon.
ITALIANS
WHO 'OWN' MALINDI
The
Standard
November
9, 2006, 12:00 am
It is
dusk. Colourful neon lights are flashing in the
compound of a luxurious multi-million shilling villa, identified by a signpost
in Italian.
A
well-dressed Italian couple comes out of the villa and heads to a pizzeria
(Italian cafH) for dinner a few metres
from the residence.
Later
after dinner, they leave the pizzeria in a taxi to a famous discotheque in town
owned by an Italian.
Welcome
to Malindi town, and be surprised at how many of its
sections look like part of an Italian town or an African Rome.
The
number of Italian residents in Malindi town and its environs, estimated at slightly over 3,000, is the largest
European population compared to other European populations anywhere in
The
Italian embassy is the only foreign mission with a resident consul in Malindi to cater for its population.
With
their financial and investment muscle, Italians have come to influence and even
dominate life in Malindi and its neighbouring
beach settlements of Mambrui, Mayungu
and Watamu.
Favourable climatic conditions
A
pioneer hotelier, Mr Godfrey Karume,
who came to the town in the early 1970s, said the first Italian came to work at
San Marco Space Centre at Ngomeni, owned by the
Karume says while socialising
with the local people in evenings, the Italians noticed the attractiveness of
virgin beaches from Ngomeni, Mambrui,
Malindi, Mayungu and Watamu.
He
said the workers at the space research centre sent word back home and some
friends, who were leaving
The
Italian Consul in Malindi, Mr
Roberto Macri, said that on arrival, and due to favourable
climatic conditions and the hospitality of the local Mijikenda
community, the Italian pioneers started buying beach plots, which by then only
cost between Sh500,000 to Sh1 million an acre.
This
attracted more Italian investors as an acre of beach plot in Italy was too
expensive and could be sold at as much as Sh20 million.
Increased
demand for beach plots
Since
then, Macri says, the Italians have invested billions of shillings. He says
currently, there are more than 2,500 properties owned by Italian investors.
Some
of these include three two four-star tourist class hotels, villas, apartments
and cottages.
A
nominated councillor, Mr Kassim Omar, who is also a property agent, says due to
increased demand for beach plots for investment by Italians, majority of whom
are from North Italy, plots are now too expensive for locals.
He
says an acre of beach plot costs between Sh5 million to Sh8 million, while
ordinary land within the town costs between Sh1 million to Sh2 million an acre.
Omar
insists the Italians, who own about 80 per cent of investments in Malindi, have brought a big impact on the prices of plots
and houses.
For
instance, he says, earlier a self-contained villa or cottage on a beach plot
cost the owners between approximately four million shillings. Today, buyers
have to cough between Sh10 to Sh12 million.
The
heavy investments, especially in the hospitality industry, employ thousands of
local people, who are living relatively comfortable lives, since there are no
agro-based industries in the area.
Marriages
of convenience
Interestingly,
there have been a lot of intermarriages between the foreigners and the locals,
but with a minimal impact on lifestyles as majority of these Italians like the
local lifestyle.
With
ever increasing number of tourists, prostitution has come up. It has also
become a common occurrence for spouses in the area to consent to dual
marriages, by allowing each other to hook up with a mzungu just for economic gain.
Such
relationships are usually seasonal. During the high tourist season, the African
couples separate and join their white lovers, only to reunite during the low
season when Italian tourists go back to their motherland.
But
for the Italians that have decided to make Malindi
their permanent abode, such couples have had to divorce in a bid to cohabit
with their white friends. These are merely marriages of convenience.
Interest
in Magarini Parliamentary seat
An MP of Italian heritage? Yes. One Mr
Franco Esposito, a former chief executive officer with the San Marco Space
Centre in Ngomeni area, has declared his candidature
for the Magarini Parliamentary seat currently held by
Mr Harrison Garama Kombe.
Esposito,
who has been nick-named Kasoso wa Baya
by the locals, wants to unseat Kombe, claiming that
his development record would make him sail through.
Speaking
at his luxurious Woburn Residence hotel, Esposito said that elders from the
area have approached him.
"Kasoso is a very small bird, and since I am a short man,
the people thought the name befitted me, and I accepted," he says with a
chuckle.
"I
am a Kenyan citizen who has lived here for over thirty years, and I believe I
can make a good MP," he says.
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