Colin Bell, Director of Mkambati Matters, speaking at a panel discussion at the Satsa conference on Thursday, said the Tourism Conservation Fund hoped to launch by October.
“We are waiting for the final sign-off from SARS,” said Bell.
The fund initially considered a levy to be imposed on industry members but it was discovered that this would be too challenging and involved administrative complexity, said Brad Poole, Programme Manager Peace Parks Foundation (PPF). “The ideas that came from many of the meetings and discussions with yourselves were around looking at voluntary contributions,” said Poole.
“Registration of the fund is in process, and legal is processing paperwork.”
Poole said issues around branding and the types of projects that the fund would support had been taken to an investigative phase. Some of the key issues that came out of the investigative process included: it could not be a levy, the funding itself had to be transparent; there had to be good governance procedure; there had to be a well-respected management structure; and it must be done on scale. He added that the projects financed had to go through a rigid selection process, but not one that was so complicated that there was never any tangible movement.
PricewaterhouseCoopers looked at what was needed to have the fund created as a public benefit organisation, with the intention that those who contributed could derive certain tax benefits, and possibly BEE benefits. ”We’ve looked at all the complexities around BEE compliance, both for the fund and in terms of how one might devolve certain BEE benefits’ score points to those contributors that require it,” said Poole.
The next step is the appointment of a board of directors. Satsa and PPF were considered the founding members of the fund and they would be represented on the board accordingly, explained Poole. Thereafter branding and marketing would be considered as well as the appointment of a management structure.
Glenn Phillips, KNP CEO, and Yolan Friedmann, CEO of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, encouraged industry to contribute and said that the aim could be to roll it out further. “Kenya is waiting to see the results and then, hopefully, the fund will be rolled out,” said Bell.
David Frost, Satsa CEO, who was also a panellist, said the aim would be for funding to be generated not just from the tourism industry.
