Kenya Police National DT Sacco has embarked on a tree planting exercise aimed at planting over 1.5 million seedlings in five years as part of the SACCO’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The tree planting exercise was marked at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Headquarters on Kiambu Road in a ceremony attended by Cooperatives Development Cabinet Secretary (CS) Simon Chelugui. In his remarks, the CS termed the Sacco as the most outstanding Sacco in the country due to its outstanding service and great management. ‘I am appealing to other Saccos and cooperatives to emulate the police Sacco and respond to President Ruto’s call to plant 15 billion trees in the next ten years,’ said Chelugui. The CS also emphasised the importance of planting trees as a way to mitigate against the effects of Climate Change ‘Each individual in Kenya is required to at least plant 30 trees per year. This means in the next 10 years everyone will have planted 300 trees; hence, we will have our national tree cover enhanced to 30 per cent by 2032,’ he added. He also cited how the State Department has in the recent past formulated a legal framework to protect Sacco members’ contributions and deposits to ensure no member loses their money in case the Sacco collapses. Cooperatives Development Cabinet Secretary (CS) Simon Chelugui and Kenya Police National DT SACCO Chairman, David Sohelo Mategwa during a tree planting exercise held at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters on Kiambu road. Photo by Grace Naishoo ‘I am proud to say that Kenya is a world leader in Saccos and cooperatives; hence, about 14 million Kenyans are members of a Sacco, thus putting us in position 7 worldwide and position 1 in Africa,’ he added. On his part, Kenya Police National DT SACCO Chairman David Sohelo Mategwa stated that the Sacco has great concern for the environment and would like to help reduce the unfavourable effects of climate change. ‘Today we are marking a historic event by planting 10,000 trees here at the DCI Headquarters to restore this forest, which is part of Karura Forest, to its former glory,’ said Mategwa. He said the trees to be planted will not only be environmentally friendly but also a source of food for the animals living in the forest. ‘We are introducing fruit trees like avocado trees, lukwart trees, jamun trees, and oyster nuts; these are to introduce a source of food to animals, mainly monkeys, who are on the brink of exiting in this part of Karura forest,’ said Mategwa. The Chairman further cited that to meet their target of planting 1.1 million trees, every member of the Sacco has been urged to plant at least 10 trees every year. The exercise is also set to go to other parts of the country, including the arid and semi-arid areas of the country, where diverse effects of climate change have been experienced, including floods and prolonged droughts. Results generated from the recent National Forest Resources Assessment 2021 indicate that Kenya has 17,742,168.02 acres of tree cover, representing 12.13 per cent of the total area. From the assessment, up to 37 counties out of the 47 (79 per cent) have a tree cover percentage greater than the constitutional target of 10 per cent tree cover. The state, however, wants the national tree cover enhanced to 30 per cent by 2032, a move that will see 15 billion trees planted.
Source: Kenya News Agency