The national and county governments are collaborating on a proposal to establish a clear formula for sharing revenue generated from wildlife national parks.
Over the weekend, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua stated that as the chairperson and Coordinator of Inter-Governmental relations between the National and County Governments, including leading the Inter-Governmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC), he is facilitating discussions between the two levels of government to achieve consensus.
“It is an ongoing conversation. I chair IBEC and I am the fulcrum between the national and county governments. I will facilitate that conversation between the national and county Governments but the cost of maintaining the parks is very expensive. We have had from the national government to sometimes supplements the income that the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) gets,” he said at the Aberdare National Park after gracing the reopening of Treetops Lodge.
Accompanied by British High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan and other guests, the Deputy President also participated in a game drive in the park. He was addressing a proposal from Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, who argued that the Nyeri County Government deserves a share of the revenue generated by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) at Aberdare National Park.
Governor Kahiga suggested that KWS should allocate a percentage of the revenue generated from Aberdare National Park to Nyeri County, citing the example of Narok County, which receives a share of the revenue collected from the Maasai Mara game reserve.
However, Deputy President Gachagua countered, saying, “Narok is different because the Maasai Mara has historically been managed by the Narok County Council, and when the Devolution system was introduced in 2013, that existing system continued.”
“Maasai Mara is a different ballgame because of the number of visitors and it’s place in the world. But that is a conversation the national and county governments should continue having,” he added.
Revenue sharing
On sharing of revenue between Kajiado County and Amboseli National Park, the DP said the talks are ongoing as directed by President William Ruto last year.
“There was a presidential pronouncement as far as Amboseli is concerned. Furtherance to President’s directive, teams were set up between the Ministry of Tourism and the Kajiado County Government. It is ongoing and is a complex matter because of the figures involved. The issue that comes up is that are the county governments willing -in case there are shortfalls- to also share liabilities to the national government?” he stated.
He explained that much as the devolved governments are willing to share the revenues with KWS, in many parks the national government has to supplement KWS to keep the operations of parks going.
“Are the county governments willing, when there is a shortfall, to chip in. We do not just discuss the assets we also discuss liabilities.
We haven’t reached a conclusive decision but we want that conversation ongoing and my office is hosting that conversation,” he said.
the Treetops Hotel, famed for witnessing Queen Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne 72 years ago, will also be a significant relic of the Mau Mau movement in Nyeri.
