President Ruto Reverses Logging Ban after Six-Year Hiatus
In an unprecedented move, President William Ruto lifted the ban on logging imposed by his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta six years ago on Sunday, June 2, 2023.
The President, who addressed a gathering in the Molo Constituency, expressed regret that the ban had contributed to the region’s economic decline.
Ruto, one of Africa’s climate crusaders, stated that lifting the ban would result in stringent measures to combat desertification.
According to President Ruto, who has been in office for less than a year, only mature trees will be harvested because it is illogical for Kenyans to live in poverty while trees decay in the forest.
“People are struggling to obtain wood, while trees in forests are decaying.
“We have lifted the ban so that we can harvest mature trees,” declared the President.
To ensure that Kenya reaped the maximum benefit from the exercise, he stated that the government would impose heavy taxes on furniture importers.
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Ruto added that the felled trees would be replaced by the 15 billion trees his administration planned to plant over the next decade.
His directive, however, sparked outrage, with climate change advocate Sue Buku lamenting that it was uninformed and would lead to deforestation.
“It’s so sad to see the logging ban lifted. A few weeks ago, I was hiking in Kamweti Forest on Mt. Kenya, and the scenery was disheartening.
She remarked, as she displayed the current state of Kamweti Forest, that the trails and forest were shocking when she visited in December 2020.
In 2018, Uhuru’s administration prohibited timber harvesting in all public and community forests across the country.
The Environment Ministry stated at the time that it was reevaluating and rationalizing the entire forest sector of the country to save the country’s major water towers.
President Ruto Reverses Logging Ban after Six-Year Hiatus
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