• The nominated MCA says residents have over the years borne the brunt of human-wildlife conflict but get nothing.
• He also wants Kenya Wildlife Service to reserve jobs for Taita Taveta residents.
Image: FILE
The Taita Taveta county government will have a slice of the revenue collected from the twin Tsavo national parks if a nominated MCA has his way.
Christopher Mwambingu on Tuesday tabled a motion on Tsavo West and Tsavo East national parks revenue sharing.
The motion seeks to set the ground for the collection of signatures so that the Kenya Wildlife Service can be petitioned to share the revenue.
If passed, Governor Granton Samboja will be compelled to come up with a roadmap for a legal framework on sharing revenue collected from the expansive national parks.
“If the motion is passed, Governor Samboja shall be mandated to engage with the National Assembly on the proposal for the amendment of Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013, so we can get a share of the cake,” Mwambingu told the Star.
He said Taita Taveta residents bore the brunt of human-wildlife conflict yet they did not benefit directly from revenue collected from the parks.
The conflict often results in deaths, injuries and destruction of property.
“Out of the county’s 17,128 square kilometres, both parks occupy 10,680 square kilometres. This is almost 62 per cent. This denies the residents the use and benefit of their ancestral land for economic gain as well as rendering them destitute by virtue of unending human-wildlife conflicts,” Mwambingu said.
Further, the MCA wants the governor to file a case in court challenging the provisions in the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act which he says are discriminatory to communities bordering conservancy areas.
“I am optimistic that members shall pass the motion on Thursday (yesterday) to fast-track the exercise of collecting signatures. We must petition KWS to pay billions that they have been denying us,” he said.
County leaders want KWS to remit to the county government at least 25 per cent of the Sh60 billion collected annually in Tsavo.
They also want KWS to be compelled to set aside at least 40 per cent of game ranger vacancies to Taita Taita residents.
On Monday, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi assured leaders of his full support to push for revenue from Kenya’s largest conservancy.
“If you have been hosting this park for decades, then it is prudent for the government to give a share to the residents. We shall tirelessly push for equitable and fair share to all communities in Kenya. Let KWS give a share to the county," Mudavadi said. He had been in the county for two days.
The opposition leader blamed KWS for delayed compensation to victims of human-wildlife conflict.
KWS has paid Sh35.6 million as compensation for only 10 death cases out of 23 reported between 2014 and 2016 in Taita Taveta. Over 1,500 cases are pending for compensation.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)