•Over Sh60 billion collected from the parks every year.
•MCA says residents suffer human-wildlife conflict but get nothing for it.
Taita Taveta residents can now petition the Kenya Wildlife Service to share revenue collected from the twin Tsavo national parks.
The county assembly on Thursday passed the much-awaited motion on the sharing of revenue from the natural resources in the conservancy within the county.
Public Accounts and Investment Committee chairman and mover of the motion Christopher Mwambingu said the motion shall set precedent for residents to append signatures on the petition.
The petition seeks to push KWS to remit to the county at least 30 per cent of the over Sh60 billion collected annually from the parks.
“I urge the county assembly to push for this petition. The office of the governor should also propose a roadmap for the legal framework for the sharing of revenue collected from the parks,” the nominated MCA said.
Residents want to be granted access to equitable sharing of resources in the parks, including not less than 30 per cent of employment and business opportunities. They also want amendments to permit local artisanal miners to engage in extractive activities as shall be guided by the Area Management Plans and approved by the County Conservation committee.
Mwambingu said only large-scale miners were allowed to undertake extractive activities in the parks.
“Mining is a key economic activity in Taita Taveta. It should be allowed in select locations within protected areas. We know a number of established companies that are linked to senior government officials who are still extracting minerals despite the enactment of this new act,” he said.
County chairman of Civil Society Organisations Ezra Mdamu said communities were not benefiting from the expansive park. He wants MPs to amend the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2019, to introduce a section on benefit share in which 25 per cent of the gross annual income go to adjacent communities, especially in human-wildlife conflict hotspots.
“There is no attempt by the government to address the long-standing issue of benefit sharing,” Mdamu said.
Most parts of the county have experienced perennial human-wildlife conflict resulting in deaths, destruction of property and injuries.
Governor Granton Samboja has been at the forefront in championing for signature collection to petition the KWS.
He said the move is aimed at liberating the people from “suppression occasioned by KWS”, further making sure the county gets a share of the revenue collected from the expansive park.
“It’s high time this county benefits from the Tsavo West National Park. It is sad seeing more than 62 per cent of our county is in the park, and yet we get nothing from it,” Samboja said.
He said residents have continually suffered from the conflict despite the government earning billions from it. He said no revenue is remitted to the county government.