Counties hosting parks and national reserves rely on them for up to 90 percent of their revenues derived from fees paid by visitors to view Kenya’s beauty.
In the six months ending December 2023, four counties with records of fees charged for entrance to game parks and game reserves saw 86 percent of their collective own revenues come from the charges.
Narok, Isiolo, Baringo and Samburu collected Sh3.3 billion between July and December, out of which Sh2.9 billion was from fees charged on game parks and reserves, a controller of budget report shows.
Hosting the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Narok County had the highest collections and reliance on park fees, getting Sh2.6 billion out of its Sh2.9 billion total own revenues.
“The highest revenue stream of Sh2.6 billion was from Maasai Mara park’s fee, contributing to 92 per cent of the total OSR (own source revenues) receipts during the reporting period,” the COB report noted.
In Samburu, which hosts the Samburu National Reserve, collections stood at 84 percent (Sh120 million) out of the Sh142.5 million total own revenues from park charges.
At least 57 percent (Sh96 million) of own revenues in Isiolo also came from game entrance and royalties.
“In the first half of FY 2023/24, the county generated a total of Sh168.23 million from its sources of revenue inclusive of FIF (facility improvement fund) and ordinary AIA (appropriations in aid). This amount represented an increase of 107 percent compared to Sh81.29 million realised in a similar period in FY 2022/23 and was 62 percent of the annual target and 8.3 percent of the equitable revenue share disbursed during the period,” the CoB report says.
“The highest revenue stream of Sh96.06 million was from the game entrance/royalties’ stream, contributing to 57 percent of the total OSR receipts during the reporting period,” the COB report noted.
While other efforts such as automation of systems and enhancement of collection measures continue to contribute to better revenue performance for counties that have witnessed growth in collections, counties hosting reserves and parks are particularly favoured.
Last year, the President directed that half of the revenues generated from game parks be surrendered to host counties, a departure from the past when some parks managed by the national government surrendered all their revenues to the central government.
A Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) report in 2021 identified that counties hosting parks and reserves that were under their management recorded better revenue performance, which boosted their resources.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
