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"id": 1191912,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1191912/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kamukunji, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Yusuf Hassan",
"speaker": {
"id": 398,
"legal_name": "Yusuf Hassan Abdi",
"slug": "yusuf-hassan-abdi"
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"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to speak once again and contribute to another incredibly beneficial Motion. It is presented by the legislator for Dagoretti South, Hon. KJ, who is calling on us, our institutions and system to plant trees along the road sides and road reserves. It may be very easy to forget how vital trees are in our homes and lives. As many speakers have said, trees beautify our surroundings, purify our air, act as a sound barrier, produce oxygen, provide shade and reduce pollution. So, the benefits of trees are enormous, particularly in this age when we are facing life threatening effects of global warming, climate change, desertification, drought, death and destruction. This is as a result of how we have messed up our environment and the planet. Looking at Kenya, it is an incredibly beautiful country which provides some of the best sceneries. I hear that Russia is beautiful, but I doubt whether there are many countries as beautiful as ours. It is how we have treated and managed our resources that is questionable. The law of the jungle is applied where construction companies have complete disregard for basic necessities or rules. When a road is being constructed, trees are cut down and the vegetation is completely destroyed. This is a culture that we need to correct and bring to an end. Even in our cities, the jungle of bricks and concrete has taken over everything. As I was growing up in this city, it had more trees. I remember the jacaranda season, although jacaranda trees are not indigenous to our country; they were a very beautiful part of our capital city. Unfortunately, all that is gone because there is this mad fight for building and making money. I very much welcome the idea that we should reverse this process by using roads to start this journey of planting trees. This is a great idea because there are many roads and spaces. What is required is the will, political decision as well as legislative policies to do so. I think we can do this. The President has pronounced himself on the need to plant millions of trees. I think this is a welcome decision, coming from the top end of our leadership. That can be done. In neighbouring Ethiopia, the Prime Minister of that country has been spearheading a major tree planting campaign. They have planted millions of trees in a very short time. If the will is there, and we have the policies, we can do this. The decision taken when giving a contractor a job and they are allowed to do whatever kind of destruction they want, should stop. We must become a country that values its environment and the rule of law rather than the law of the jungle. I think we can reverse the major destructive effects of climate change by planting trees, starting with the roads. As some of the experts have said, it is very important to have the right trees. This means we cannot plant any tree, and I agree with them. The idea of collaborating with other players like research centres, the KEFRI and the KFS is very good. I recently suggested that we honour and remember some of the people who played major roles in saving our environment. One heroin of this campaign is the late Hon. Wangari Maathai, the famous Kenyan environmentalist. I brought a Motion to Parliament to name the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}