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{
    "id": 295347,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/295347/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 151,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Wekesa",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Forestry and Wildlife",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 209,
        "legal_name": "Noah Mahalang'ang'a Wekesa",
        "slug": "noah-wekesa"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) Yes, I am aware of the potential of Kakamega Forest Reserve as a tourist destination site. However, it should be noted that the entire ecosystem covers an area of 19,792 hectares, of which the northern part comprising of 4,468 hectares is managed by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) already gazetted and the rest is under the direct management of Kenya Forest Service (KFS). The national reserve in the forest was gazettted in 1985 under Wildlife Management Act, Cap.376, while the forest boundaries were recently re-established in 2006 by KFS and therefore, the area is 19,792 hectares. Further, I wish to state that the local community benefits immensely from the forest reserve since the ecosystem serves as a source of timber, fuel wood, building materials, not to mention medicine, food in terms of honey and, of course, pasture. My Ministry would like to advice against demarcating, fencing and upgrading the forest facility to a national park, because this will fundamentally change its status legally and also administratively. This is because under the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act and the National Park Management Regulations, entry into the National Reserve and utilization by the communities and plantations, development activities are not allowed under these circumstances. This will, therefore, alienate the local community from accessing the forest products for their livelihood. (b) My Ministry will work with the Ministry of Tourism to popularize the scenic site of Ilesi under the auspices of the Western Tourist circuit. The private sector will also be encouraged to partner with the local community leaders and stakeholders to promote tourism in the entire region. However, it is important to note that this scenic site is, of course, outside the gazette forest land."
}