KWS on a slippery road in the sewers :: Kenya

National Government support threatens to bring down the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

The Sunday Standard's investigations show that an entity that once had a fleet of more than 100 vehicles, a huge percentage of which is stationary, for reasons as insignificant as the lack of spare parts.

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"Things do not move here anymore For vehicles to be serviced even for minor problems, you have to ask Nairobi headquarters.

"We have a number of vehicles that are immobilized because of small mechanical problems, but you can not have a budget here," said one of the park officials.

To draw a graphic picture of the slippery road on which the KWS is located, another source in the air wing said that at one point last year, none of the 14 planes Fixed wing parks were in good working order. Another source, however, confirmed that four of them are now in working order.

Cumulated Costs

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Initially, KWS had twelve light aircraft, including a 14-seat Cessna Caravan and two helicopters, a Bell 206 and a seven-seat Bell 407.

"Many of the planes are immobilized because there is no budget to finance aircraft maintenance, which has led to cumulative service costs," the source said.

It is in this context that the secretary of the Tourism Cabinet, Najib Balala, has promised profound changes to the agency in charge of the country's fauna and flora that are a global attraction.

million. Balala says the restructuring will involve a reshuffle of senior management and decentralization of management.

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"I arrived six months ago and I have identified the challenges that it has. organization is going through, Kenyans will soon start to see the action, we will not let the gem of the country fall, "Balala said.

He noted that while KWS is facing challenges, the business in the conservancies was flourishing, a fact that he said needed to be revamped.

"Unlike the past, private companies have more control over wildlife than KWS, which is unique in Kenya, and in other countries it is not. to have more influence on our animals by helping the organization to thrive, "said the CS.

"We plan to fly ten top-rated parks giving them autonomy in authority and budget so that they can flourish." This is among a series of measures we have put in place to help reorganize KWS, "he added. The symptomatic rot of the state agency could be attributable to the inability of management to fully implement the recommendations of two internal audit reports.

Inciting the Staff

The first audit report detailed the challenges that KWS was going through and mentioned mismanagement.

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The report of the management committee chaired by Tom Sipul, then deputy director of corporate services, also identified staff incitement and the encroachment of his lands by the breeders.

On the basis of this report, the council chaired by former Minister David Mwiraria formed another ad hoc committee comprising the National Intelligence Service, the mobile phone companies, the private sector, the investigative department criminals and the police. who were subsequently fired. Employees, mostly park security officers, have been charged with colluding with poachers.

Telephone records linked employees to a poaching syndicate.

But KWS spokesman Paul Gathitu said the agency was not in shambles and that a lot of work was being done to revive operations.

Another officer who requested anonymity because he was not allowed to speak on behalf of the organization said that things were not good at KWS but expressed optimism about the new board chaired by Julius Waithaka.

"There are many factors, the change of the guards to the organization has had a toll more other external factors like the political temperature in the country that have affected the influx of tourists local and international, "said the officer.

He said that KWS accounted for 80% of the park fees and that any disruption in the revenue stream would have a negative impact on its operations.

A senior KWS officer admitted that things had got worse after the release of former managing director Julius Kipngetich.

Wanting to Reap

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William Waweru (Deputy Director of Finance and Administration), Mr. Sipul (Assistant Director of General Services) and Christopher Oludhe (Chief of the Chain Management of the Department). supply) are other senior officers.

Today, the KWS has been forced to depend on "super" parks such as Nairobi, Tsavo East, West, Lake Nakuru, Aberdares and Amboseli to survive and manage other parks across the country. .

In an interview with Sunday Standard M. Sipul said KWS was suffering from mismanagement from people eager to harvest from the agency.

"The KWS collected more than Sh 4 billion a year at the time – remember once we reached the Sh5 billion mark – this allowed the organization to maintain a system effective surveillance with a new fleet of vehicles and well-maintained aircraft, a good road network and a well-considered force, "he said.

According to the 2015 financial report signed by the chairman of the board, Richard Leakey, and Mr. Kiprono as secretary, the revenue rose from Sh3.4 billion to Sh2 billion in one year.

The decline in revenues could have led to the reshuffle of last year which saw the return of former chief executive Nehemiah Rotich as chief executive in charge of finance, administration and human resources, among others. Rotich's mandate ended last month, however, and was not renewed.

Destruction of bad weather

Environmental advocates also blame KWS for the council's decision to allow the Standard Gauge Railway to divide Nairobi National Park from 28,963 acres just in the middle. The encroachment on the park began in 2014, while about 90 acres were dug to build the south bypbad.

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Laikipia Wildlife Forum Executive Director, Mordecai Ogada, has accused the government of using KWS to endorse the free destruction of parks and parks. They should protect.

"This" development "is sad for Kenyans, how is it that we are destroying what our fathers and grandfathers have protected all this time?" KWS is mandated to protect wildlife, but unfortunately, it is they who endanger animals with risky decisions, "said Dr. Ogada.

"When they start building with heavy materials in the little park, will there remain a park?" He asked.

"The animals are going to flee and unfortunately there is no migratory route for them to go out in. It's just a disaster in waiting, it's painful to see this happen, "he added.

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