Speaking at Meru National Park in central Kenya during the unveiling of 950 million Kenyan shillings (about 7.3 million U.S. dollars) for third-phase human-wildlife compensation, Ruto said the prepaid card is part of government efforts to streamline compensation for human-wildlife conflict and ensure prompt payment for affected individuals.
“The initiative, a partnership between the State Department for Wildlife and Kenya Commercial Bank, allows a portion of each transaction made by cardholders to be donated to the Wildlife Trust Fund, transforming ordinary spending into a force for good,” he said.
Ruto noted that victims of human-wildlife conflict will no longer wait up to eight years to be compensated because the country has migrated from a manual to a digital payment platform.
Erustus Kanga, director general of the state-owned Kenya Wildlife Service, said the country has ramped up its field operations to prevent, mitigate, and manage human-wildlife conflicts through specialized units to respond rapidly to emerging threats and defuse conflicts on the spot.
Kanga added that prevention of human-wildlife conflict remains a priority through the construction of electric fences and the installation of solar-powered predator deterrent lights.
