The State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (SDBT) and its Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) participated in a tree planting exercise at the Ngong Hills, Kajiado County, on Monday to commemorate National Tree Growing Day.
SDBT Secretary of Administration Juliana Yiapan called on members of the public through the Community Forest Association to nurture the trees to ensure that they grow to fruition, rather than just planting them and leaving them to wither away.
Yiapan stated that the ministry will involve the community living in the Kibiku area of Ngong Hills in a bid to ensure that the trees are nurtured and sustained.
“We will talk to the Forest Department on how best we can nurture these trees,” she said, asserting that it is important that trees grown benefit future generations, and as such, fruit trees should be preferable.
President William Ruto, who led the exercise through a gazette notice, gave Kenyans a special holiday to plant 100 million trees as part of the government’s goal to plant 15 billion trees in the next 10 years.
Cabinet secretaries spearheaded the exercise in various counties, accompanied by heads of state departments.
According to Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tiya, the Special Monday holiday aimed at allowing Kenyans to own the initiative.
About 150 million seedlings have been made available in public nurseries through the Forestry Department, with Kenyans encouraged to plant at least a few seedlings.
Among the key leaders present were SDBT Director of Information Joseph Kipkoech, SDBT Director of Administration Kimani Waweru, Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC) CEO Peter Wakoli, Director, Directorate of Public Communications Miriam Rahedi, SDBT Senior Deputy Secretary Hezron Nyamberi, and representatives from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK), Kenya Year Book, National Communication Secretariat, and Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).
By Alice Gworo
