Kenya Plans Levy on Park-Entry Fee to Fund Wildlife Conservation

Kenyans might have to pay more to enjoy the country’s wildlife scenery after Treasury CS John Mbadi announced plans to introduce yet another charge to park entry fees.

In a statement dated Wednesday, November 27, the government announced plans to impose a 1 percent levy on entry fees to parks, reserves, and conservancies to fund wildlife conservation.

“Section 23 (1) of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013 (as amended) establishes the Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund. These Public Finance Management (Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund) were earlier published in December 2023 but are republished on the directions of Parliament to include a 1 percent levy of revenues realized from fees charged for entrance to parks, reserves, conservancies, and sanctuaries to support conservation activities,” part of the statement by Mbadi read.

According to a statement on the National Treasury’s website, this new charge aims to boost contributions to the Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund, helping manage and restore protected areas and conservancies, as well as protect endangered species.

Tourism is Kenya’s second-largest source of foreign exchange after diaspora remittances and farm exports. The number of visitors to its national parks and game reserves grew by 43% to 3.64 million in 2023, according to official data.

Kenyans have until December 6, 2024, to share their opinions on the proposal.

“Now, under Section 4 (a) and 5 (3) (a) and (b) of the Statutory Instruments Act, 2013, the National Treasury & Economic Planning invites members of the public to submit any comments, inputs, or memoranda they may have on the said draft Public Finance Management (Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund) Regulations, 2023, in the format provided on the website,” the statement continues.

All Kenyans have been directed to forward their comments, inputs, or memoranda to the Principal Secretary, the National Treasury. Submissions can be hand-delivered to the Office of the Principal Secretary at the National Treasury Building in Nairobi or emailed to the Treasury.

Additionally, Kenyans have been invited to attend in-person meetings on December 6.

This move comes after the government had initially made prior increases to the park-entry fees across the country.
In October, Tourism CM Rebecca Maino defended the increase.

Speaking after the launch of a new coast tourism circuit in Kilifi on October 31, 2024, Miano said that there was a need for a change in the charges as most of them had been in place for years despite the fluctuating nature of the economy.

“The figures that have been proposed I think are reasonable and this came up as a recommendation by the whole industry,” the CS said while in Kilifi.

With these new proposals, Kenyans might have to part with more money just to visit the parks.