MPs grill Tourism and Wildlife officials over budget cuts and compensation delays

MPs grill Tourism and Wildlife officials over budget cuts and compensation delays

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓. 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐨𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲. 

The Departmental Committee on Tourism and Wildlife, chaired by Maara Constituency MP Hon. Kareke Mbiuki, today met with officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, led by the Principal Secretary for the State Department for Wildlife, Ms. Silvia Museiya, to scrutinize the 2024/2025 Financial Year Supplementary Estimates No. 2.

PS Museiya informed the Committee that the initial gross printed budget estimates for the Financial Year 2024/2025 stood at Kshs. 14.343 billion, comprising Kshs. 12.090 billion in recurrent expenditure and Kshs. 2.253 billion in development expenditure. However, these allocations were significantly reduced during Supplementary 1 to Kshs. 12.414 billion, slashing the development budget to Kshs. 360 million. The latest revision under Supplementary 2 further reduced the total allocation to Kshs. 12.410 billion.

"It is noteworthy that during Supplementary 1, we suffered a serious cut of Kshs. 1.918 billion in the development budget. We request reinstatement in Supplementary 2 to help clear accrued pending bills, which have not been considered," PS Museiya stated.

Committee members raised concerns over the persistent delays in human-wildlife conflict compensation, noting that many victims had yet to receive payments despite official communication suggesting otherwise.

"The compensation is not felt on the ground," said Hon. Mbiuki. "People who have suffered losses due to wildlife attacks are frustrated. This matter needs urgent intervention."

Lamu East MP Hon. (Capt.) Ruweida Obo echoed these concerns, citing a specific case in her constituency.

"I have a resident, Hasan, who was informed via text message that he had been compensated, yet he has not received a single cent. The victims are on our necks, and we need answers," she lamented.

In response, PS Museiya attributed the delays to technicalities in policy and legal frameworks, including issues related to data protection laws and directives from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The State Department for Tourism also presented its financial report, indicating an approved budget of Kshs. 10.3 billion for the 2024/2025 Financial Year, with Kshs. 9.8 billion allocated for recurrent expenditure and Kshs. 470 million for development. The department revealed that by the mid-point of the financial year, it had utilized Kshs. 4.29 billion, reflecting an absorption rate of 43.47% for recurrent funds and 2.91% for development funds.

Hon. Mbiuki took issue with the lack of transparency in financial reports from parastatals under the Ministry.

"We are not here to rubber-stamp figures and oversee wastage of public funds," he asserted. "The Tourism Promotion Fund and the Tourism Fund must present itemized budgets instead of blanket figures. This is a recipe for corruption, and we will not allow it."