Senior counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi has proposed that November 13 be made an annual public holiday for Kenyans to plant trees.
The lawyer said on Tuesday Monday’s tree planting exercise where the government called on Kenyans to plant trees within their environs was a huge success.
“Yesterday’s tree planting exercise was a great success throughout the country. 13th November should be an annual public holiday for Kenyans to plant trees,” Ahmednasir said.
The government gazetted Monday, November 13, as a public working holiday to have Kenyans plant at least 150 million trees countrywide.
The initiative is part of the government’s plan to plant 15 billion trees in 10 years to help combat climate change.
Kenyans heeded the call and turned up in numbers within their localities to plant tree seedlings that were provided for free by the government.
President William Ruto who has stood out on the global scene for championing climate change mitigation strategies led the tree planting initiative at Kiu Wetland in Makueni County.
The Head of State was assisted by governors, Cabinet Secretaries and national government administration officers in rallying Kenyans to plant at least two trees each in the other regions.
Environment and Climate Change CS Soipan Tuya urged Kenyans who participated in planting the trees to record the same on Jaza Miti “to enable us to keep track of the activity”.
“Countrywide returns we continue to receive indicate that we surpassed the 150m target for the day, with Jaza Miti App indicating close to 7,000 new entries,” she said.
The CS extended gratitude to CSs, Governors, PSs Regional and County Commissioners, MPs, MCAs and all State officials who led concurrent tree-growing activities in Counties, Subcounties and Ward levels across the country, in a ‘whole-government, whole-of-society’ show of solidarity.
“We are particularly grateful to our country’s top leadership led by H.E President Dr William Ruto and H.E Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, and their Spouses, for leading the national tree growing activity at Kiu Wetland, Makueni County where we surpassed the 100,000 seedlings target.”
The CS further expressed gratitude to every Kenyan who heeded the call to grow trees and encouraged them to continue growing trees, especially during the ongoing short rains season to enable the country to meet its 500m seedlings target by Christmas.
She said that Kenyans braving the wet and cold conditions in most parts of the country in one accord to plant trees was a true demonstration of the Ubuntu philosophy of,” I am because we are.