By Eddah Waithaka
Tour and travel agents took their grievances to the streets and directly to the government on Thursday, staging protests against the newly introduced 8.5% ‘Gateway Fee’ for park entries and demanding its immediate abolition.
The agents gathered outside the Tourism Fund building, presenting a petition to Wildlife Principal Secretary Silvia Museiya.
They argue that the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rolled out a new digital payment system without adequate consultation, creating financial chaos and violating a court order.
“As tour operators, we support conservation and digital efficiency,” the protesters stated. “But this policy was introduced overnight. Many of us already have confirmed bookings with fixed prices. We can’t adjust those, so we end up absorbing the extra costs, which leads to losses.”
The new system, which accepts only M-Pesa and Visa payments, poses significant logistical challenges.
Operators highlighted the difficulty of processing large group bookings and corporate tours that traditionally rely on bank transfers. They also contested the 8.5% card processing fee, calling it exorbitant compared to the standard 1.5% to 3% for similar government services.
Adding to their frustrations, the agents pointed out that KWS set its exchange rate at KSh 135 per US dollar, significantly above the Central Bank of Kenya’s official rate of KSh 129.50.
This discrepancy artificially inflates park entry costs for all visitors.”The abrupt removal of bank transfers has made it extremely difficult to process large transactions,” one operator said, noting the change creates an “uneven playing field” for an industry still recovering from global economic shocks.
Jackline Nganga from Tranquil Expeditions raised a critical transparency issue: “Tour operators don’t know where the gateway fee goes. Despite making the payments, they do not appear on the receipt.”
She also emphasized that the government is defying a court order by implementing the fee.In a significant development, PS Museiya acknowledged the validity of the agents’ concerns.
She thanked them for their constitutional approach to protest and agreed that the initial public participation was inadequate.“I agree that there are issues that are genuine and they should be addressed,” Museiya stated. “I see three major issues, it is also clear to me that public participation was not adequate. I also see there is a new fee there.”
The PS announced an urgent multi-stakeholder meeting scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m., involving agencies like E-Citizen and KWS. She promised a comprehensive government response and a clear roadmap with timelines by the end of that meeting. “We shall come back and reform what we must reform,” Museiya assured the crowd.
The tour operators warned that if the government fails to take concrete action, they will escalate their protest by taking their petition to Parliament next week.
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