Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Performance and Delivery Management in the Office of the President Eliud Owalo has asked state departments and agencies to redouble their efforts in tree planting to help reach the 15 billion target by the year 2032.
Owalo said all the departments and agencies must inculcate the culture of tree planting in their staff and take advantage of the available spaces within their establishments across the country to grow trees.
Since the inception of the programme, he said, state departments and agencies have planted 4.6 million trees, calling for concerted efforts to boost the numbers.
“You must be committed and dedicated to ensure that the 15 billion target set by His Excellency the President is attained,” he said.
Speaking during a tree planting exercise at Maseno School in Kisumu County, Owalo decried the poor tree cover in Kisumu, which currently stands at 8.85%, calling on the private sector to join hands with the government to push the figure to 30% by the year 2032.
“We believe that moving forward we will get more private sector players to help the government meet the target. This initiative is very important to mitigate against the effects of climate change and control floods which have dogged this area for years,” he said.
The Kenya Kwanza administration, he said, was on course in the delivery of promises made during the campaigns calling on Kenyans to support the various government initiatives.
He pointed out the five priority areas anchored on the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which he said have registered tremendous success.
The fertiliser subsidy programme, he said, has registered positive results, with farmers across the country getting bumper harvests.
This, he added, has in turn lowered the price of Unga and the cost of living.
On affordable housing, the government, he said, has delivered 113,000 units with over 260,000 jobs created for the youth.
By Chris Mahandara
