Nairobi County has made several attempts to gain control of the Nairobi National Park, to no avail, Governor Johnson Sakaja has told Senators.
Sakaja, while appearing before the Senate Devolution Committee on Monday, November 24, said the national government must hand over the revenues collected from the park to the county, as it has done with others.
"We will be making a case in the same way Maasai Mara, the county government of Narok collects, the same way Amboseli was handed to Kajiado County, Nairobi National Park, which is almost an eighth of the county, should follow suit," Sakaja told chairperson Mohammed Abass.
According to Sakaja, the county has made at least two attempts through letters to Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano to gain control of the park that collected Ksh1.2 billion last year.
However, the governor says the national government has been dragging its feet over the matter, even proposing to share revenue with the county 50/50.
The governor made the revelations when being pressed to explain revenue collection in Nairobi and the goals for the richest county in the country.
In response, the governor pointed to the disparity between Nairobi and larger counties like Kajiado, which he claims had the luxury of directly benefiting from national parks.
The county boss further declared that he would continue pushing for Nairobi County to take full control of the Nairobi National Park, which is the only national park within a capital city globally.
Sakaja said, "It is not fair that it is being applied selectively. I saw recently there was a big function where Amboseli was handed over to Kajiado county."
According to Sakaja, the presence of a national park in the city constrains other development, which could have otherwise pumped more revenue into the county.
Management of the Amboseli National Park was transferred to the Kajiado County government in a landmark move which followed the signing of a Deed of Transfer of Management Functions on October 14.
Effectively, revenue from the part will be split equally between the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Kajiado County government during the 2026/2027 financial year before the county’s share rises to 70 per cent in 2027/2028. The next financial year after this will see Kajiado County retain 100 per cent of collections.
