Baringo County Commissioner Abdirisack Jaldesa has directed multi-agency teams in the county to go after charcoal dealers, whom he noted were destroying the environment, accelerating drought and desertification in the region.
Jaldesa who spoke to KNA on phone stated that a two-week amnesty issued last month, will come to an end next Tuesday, after which they will crack the whip on all those who are illegally producing and transporting the charcoal.
The county commissioner stated that apart from apprehending the dealers at the grassroots, roadblocks will be mounted on major highways in the county where boda boda sellers are using to ferry the charcoal in sacks to major towns like Nakuru and Eldoret.
He warned that they will not spare anybody during the exercise because people destroying forests have heavily contributed to the ravaging drought challenge.
“We have sensitized the communities on the effects of charcoal burning and we want to stop this business,” he said.
Jaldesa also said his office has instructed charcoal producers associations in the county that they will seize charcoal from any tree species that are sold within and outside the county.
“If anybody has stocked charcoal let him or her get prepared because things shall be tough after the deadline because they are engaging in a business whose moratorium is still in force,” he said.
The ban on charcoal burning, the county commissioner restated, on both community and private lands will remain in force until further notice.
Baringo Governor Benjamin Cheboi in his Mashujaa day speech last month expressed disappointment over felling of trees in the county, which he noted has reached unprecedented levels, especially along Lake Kapnarok in Kerio Valley, therefore killing the tourism sector.
Cheboi said that the lake which is on the verge of extinction due to massive degradation within its environs and upstream is famous for hosting thousands of white crocodiles.
The Governor pointed out that the charcoal burners who are engaging in the booming business, have also destroyed indigenous trees like acacia, which are critical for production of honey and pods eaten by animals.
He appealed to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to team up with National Government officials in the protection of the sprawling Lake Kapnarok game reserve.
The directive by the Baringo County Commissioner comes barely weeks after President Dr. William Ruto vowed to undertake a journey to combat climate change by planting five billion trees in the next five years.
By Benson Kelio and Joshua Kibet
