Human Wildlife Co-existence (HWC) budget to be transferred to Kenya Wildlife Service
The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife is in the process of transferring the mandate and budget for Human Wildlife Co-existence (HWC) back to its SAGA- Kenya Wildlife Service
In a meeting held today between the Ministry and KWS officials, it was agreed that KWS is better placed to handle the issues of HWC as they are the first point of contact when a case is reported and they are possession of all the raw data received from the verification teams at the grassroot. The transfer process will be finalized in the next two weeks after reconciliation and verification of all the records by the two teams. During the reconciliation process, all the available HWC monies will be disbursed.
Chairing the meeting at the Ministry’s boardroom in NSSF building today, the Principal Secretary for Wildlife Silvia Museiya asked KWS to consider dedicating a small amount of conservation fees to pay HWC victims adding that a dedicated HWC account will be opened where money will be deposited directly and payments tracked.
Two years ago, the Ministry piloted a digital HWC compensation scheme in six counties namely; Baringo, Taita Taveta, Meru, Narok, Kajiado and Laikipia from Nov 2023-Nov-2025 and the system will be rolled out to the rest of the country in the next phase. Lessons learnt from the pilot phase will be addressed going forward. KWS will establish a HWC verification team in every county that will be trained on the use of the digital system and reporting of conflicts at the grassroot. The PS challenged KWS to consider establishing a kitty for HWC compensation scheme to alleviate the suffering of victims in view of delayed exchequer.
The PS welcomed the idea of fostering closer interactions between Ministry staff and its SAGAs by having joint excursions in national parks and reserves across the country.
The KWS Director General Erastus Kanga indicated that an endowment fund from donations received will also be considered and money disbursed to HWC victims as part of financial sustainability for the scheme.