President William Ruto has vowed to spearhead a campaign to combat climatic change by planting 5 billion trees in the next five years.
Speaking during a church service in Muranga county, the Head of State stated that the drought situation in the country will get worse with time and therefore the onus is on the larger populace to undertake the journey of tree plantation to help in the fight against desertification.
"Several parts of the country are currently bearing the brunt of a ravaging drought which will get worse with time because of climate change unless we do certain things. That is why as a government we want to unite with Kenyans to plant 5 billion trees in the next 5 years," he said.
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The president implored government agencies, leaders in the private sector, county governments and other businesspersons to join the Kenya Kwanza government in the tree-planting campaign.
Ruto also stated that his administration will now offer alternative jobs to the youths who had been roped in the Kazi Mtaani initiative. The offer comes just days after he abolished the Kazi Mtaani initiative that was rolled out by the government of his predecessor retired President Uhuru Kenyatta.
"The youth who were working in the Kazi Mtaani initiative will now be employed to plant trees. This will help us ensure that we have enough trees in the country," he stated.
The Head of State further stated that his administration will use its numbers in parliament to allocate more funds to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) kitty so that the tree planting drive can get better financing at constituency levels.
During a joint media address with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in State House last week, Ruto affirmed his commitment to the tree-planting initiative that he believes will help in the push to tame climate change.
"We have already taken the policy direction that we are going to plant 5 billion trees in the next five years and another 10 billion trees in the next ten years. That is going to contribute significantly to the fight against desertification and the challenges that come with climate change," he said then.
