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{
    "id": 204753,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/204753/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 401,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Muriungi",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Tourism and Wildlife",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 270,
        "legal_name": "Raphael Muriungi",
        "slug": "raphael-muriungi"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, may I thank hon. Members for the support they have given to this Ministry. We definitely could not have performed so well without the support of everybody. There has been a tremendous growth of local tourism. I commend Kenyans for promoting their own products. We cannot entirely rely on foreigners, especially during the low season. Today, we are not suffering from the low season because Kenyans are filling that gap. Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, several issues were raised concerning our hotel capacity. That is a challenge which we are trying to address. I would like to tell hon. Members that we are putting up some new hotels in some of our parks. We have identified developers. We also have camp sites. We are trying to encourage them. We are also ensuring that the environment is not interfered with. Environmental consideration is being taken into account, so that we do not convert 3822 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES September 11, 2007 our tourist destinations to concrete jungles. Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, we have also achieved self-sufficiency in some of our parastatals. The KWS, for example, has raised enough money to sustain most of its services. Hon. Members might have seen us flagging off fleets of vehicles to patrol our parks. That is from the money that has been generated by KWS, and not from the Exchequer. We are developing a tourism policy. We never used to have one. Once that policy is enacted into law, it will answer some of the questions that are being raised by hon. Members. It is at an advanced stage. The same also goes for the Wildlife Conservation and Management Policy (WCMP). That Wildlife Conservation and Management Policy will address issues such as the human-wildlife conflict and compensation. Compensation will be done using the same policy as the one used by insurance companies, where human life is taken into consideration. We also intend to reinstate compensation for damaged crops and property. I would like to briefly address the issue of monkeys. The monkey menace is different from that of elephants. It is easier to control an elephant than a monkey. Even if you put up an electric fence, there are animals that can even dig under the fence. The monkeys even know how to avoid the live wire. It will use the neutral wire and somersault to the other side. But we are also trying to come up with monkey-proof fences. It is a challenge that we are also trying to address, because it is more complicated than the others. With regard to the corridor from Nairobi National Park through Kitengela, I would like to assure hon. Members that we are involving the communities to manage that issue. Finally, on the western circuit, the World Tourism Week was celebrated there last year to sensitise the people of western Kenya on the gains of tourism. I take this opportunity to, once again, thank hon. Members for the support they are giving us. We promise to do our best."
}