Italian billionaire and investor Flavio Briatore based in Malindi on Wednesday threatened to sell his property and quit the Kenyan market should the state of the town fail to improve its sanitation after numerous complains to clean up the city seemingly hit a dead end.

The owner of the popular Billionaire and Lion in the Sun resorts in Malindi divulged that investors in the area are frustrated over poor state of the roads and the stink due to uncollected garbage.

"The town is very dirty and smelly and its roads have many potholes. Why isn't the county doing anything to attract tourists to the resort town which is a major tourist destination? Investors do not go to dirty towns," he said.

Dilapidated roads

He added: “We need confidence to attract investors. We came back to Malindi but nothing has changed. Roads have potholes, the town is still dirty. In another 10 years we will be forced to close shop or sell our properties.”

“Coast is a disaster. The roads are terrible ... the big issue in Coast is hospitality ... nobody wants to invest ... we do not know what will happen in two years,” he told the Star in an interview.

He faulted the government for the reluctance in improving the transport avenues in the area, demanding that the Malindi infrastructure be redone.

Taxes

“Nobody wants to fix the airport. It's been more than 10 years yet nobody wants to do something. Somebody wanted it built near Tsavo ... it’s a big problem,” he said.

He added that they will skip paying taxes, should nothing be done.

“If nothing changes, we will not give a penny. We pay salaries and bring experts from Europe to train many people."

Both Mombasa and Kilifi Counties are facing a task of cleaning up major cities after reports of cholera outbreak hit and killed numerous people in the area. Both Governors Amason Kingi and Hassan Joho promised to improve tourism at the coast during their campaigns at the coast.