Wildlife victims assured of compensation worth more than two billion/-

DAILY NEWS Reporter

THE government will clear all pending compensation debts amounting to more than 2bn/- owed to people who have been affected by wildlife.

Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism Engineer Ramo Makani said the government will embark on the exercise to clear all compensation debts before the parliamentary budget session this year.

Eng Makani, who was addressing the Bunda District leadership at the end of his working tour, said the government’s decision will address long time public outcry for those whose lives were affected by wildlife, including destruction of crops and farmlands, injuries and loss of life.

“The 5th Phase government has completed a verification exercise that has provided statistics on all pending debts that the ministry owes those affected by wildlife. For about 80 districts that have been facing this challenge, the debts owed amount to 2,081,532,700/-,” he explained.

The deputy minister named some of the districts that are most affected as Serengeti and Bunda in Mara Region bordering Serengeti National Park, Lake Victoria, Grumeti and Ikorongo Game Reserve. Eng Makani said Serengeti District was leading with claims amounting to 408.5m/- -- followed by Bunda with 266m/-.

The deputy minister underscored the importance of seeking out sustainable solutions to avoid future occurrences. He told them that the government can utilise monies set aside for compensation to fund other development projects.

“The only sustainable solution to this challenge will be found only if the public is involved in addressing the matter,” he explained while directing Bunda and Serengeti district s’leadership to coordinate the involvement of the public through forming groups in every village that will identify their needs including equipment.