President Ruto to lead tree-planting exercise on Monday

The government has said preparations for Monday's nationwide tree-planting exercise will be led by President William Ruto are complete.

The President is expected to launch the national exercise at Kiu Wetland in Makindu, Makueni County.

In a joint statement seen by the Eastleigh Voice on Sunday, Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo and his Forestry counterpart Githonga Mugambi said the government has already mobilized the provision of seedlings across the counties with the process of distributing them to various places underway in an exercise coordinated by National Government Administration Officials (NGAOs) and other partners.

"Away from earmarked areas across the counties where Cabinet Secretaries, County Commissioners, and Governors will oversee the tree planting exercise, the government is looking to put much of its focus at

the location level," the statement read.

The government has instructed Chiefs in all 47 counties to take the lead in the tree-planting efforts.

The chiefs will take charge of coordinating the distribution of seedlings and mobilizing residents in their localities to actively participate.

"We want to maximize this day to grow as many trees as possible as we work towards attaining our ambitious goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032," the two PSs said.

#NationalTreeGrowingDay pic.twitter.com/scaYO0yXbv

— Ministry of Interior | Kenya (@InteriorKE) November 12, 2023

"We encourage members of the public to visit their nearest Chief’s Office to acquire the tree seedlings. We call on the public to actively participate in nurturing the planted trees and taking ownership of the National Day to ensure long-term benefits for our environment."

The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry has targeted at least 100 million seedlings to be planted on Monday.

The ministry said they have 150 million plantable seedlings at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (Kefri) and Kenya Forestry Service (KFS) nurseries across the country.