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{
    "id": 1191855,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1191855/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 277,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dagoretti South, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Kiarie",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "are now feeling the effects. The City is way hotter, drier and less beautiful. What used to be the Green City in the sun – Nairobi - is no more. What has happened to Nairobi has happened to almost every other urban centre in this country and beyond. Back then, trees had beautiful landmarks. If you went to Hurlingham, you could see beautiful trees. Nobody knew where the Department of Defence (DOD) was because it was well covered with trees. Today, buildings, homes, installations and Government buildings are exposed and with it, comes many other issues. The import of this Motion is to beg this House to agree with me that we can put it in law that every contractor who has been contracted to build a road can plant trees at the end of their contract. The contract can carry the quantity of trees that need to be planted per kilometre. When I was moving this Motion, I said that we are building roads at the pace of 600 kilometres per annum. Imagine 600 kilometres of roads covered with a canopy of trees on both sides? How much afforestation can we do per year? Roads can become a corridor of focus in afforestation. Roadside trees will make a significant improvement to the quality of roads and the environment. The mess caused by cutting a tree here, can be felt downstream in Athi River and beyond. People do not know the concept of the oneness of existence; that today you can mess a water catchment area in Karura Forest, and the effects would be felt in Kathonzweni; that you can block a water way in Kikuyu, and the person who will suffer is somewhere in Sultan Hamud. The oneness of existence is that, if we are to be our brothers’ keepers, we can start by planting a tree; that today, planting one tree is going to save a life somewhere, far than you can imagine. The great Martin Luther King told us that we should be our brothers’ keepers; and if we do not want to, we should not be our brothers’ executors. Anyone cutting a tree is a brother’s or sister’s executor. The children in the Gallery today can also tell you the benefits of tree planting. They will tell you that when you plant a tree, you are able to bind the soil with some organic matter. We have scientists in this Chamber. I can see Hon. (Dr.) Lilian Gogo, and she can tell you that the benefits of planting a tree goes beyond beautification and aesthetic properties of having a beautiful and green city. She will also tell you that when you plant a tree, you are aiding and enhancing the infiltration of water retention in the soil."
}