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{
    "id": 958574,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/958574/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 235,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mwangi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 75,
        "legal_name": "Ephraim Mwangi Maina",
        "slug": "ephraim-maina"
    },
    "content": "When one goes to countries like Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands, one wonders what is happening in this country because the forest cover in Sweden is 66 per cent. This is despite the fact that Sweden is a country with less than 10 million people in terms of population while Kenya has only six per cent. We need trees for various reasons such a clean environment and timber. It is a shame for this country, as big as it is with the human resource it has, to be importing timber from Congo, Tanzania and other countries. We have the ability and a lot of unused land in this country. In the whole of North-Eastern Province and most of Eastern Province have all that land that we can plant trees, but we choose not to do it. It should be mandatory. It should be made into law. I hope that today Sen. Kibiru will translate this Motion into law so that everybody plants trees wherever they are. It is important for people to know that trees can also be used for trade. If you have a lot of trees say about 100 acres, you will be making a lot of money. At the same time, you will have improved the environment of this country. It is imperative to know that trees will make this country better than it is today. Trees give us water. Today we are experiencing a lot of problems because our forest cover is less than five per cent. When you go to Maasailand when there is no rain, the place is very dry. When you go to the former North-Eastern Province, when there is no rain, the place is very dry and unproductive for the populace in this country. Madam Temporary Speaker, I urge Sen. Kibiru to covert this Motion into a Bill which will be debated by this House and the National Assembly. Once it is enacted and becomes an Act of Parliament, it will be mandatory for every Kenyan with land to plant a number of trees. By so doing, this country will be better off and it will have made significant millage to have forests. If you look at the Mau Forest today, one wonders why the Government decided to take people to reside there. It was a very good forest to give this country many cubic metres of water. However, now you will find people have settled there. They have not settled there because there is no land where this people can be settled. We have a lot of idle land in this country. The land that is being used by Kenyans is a very small portion and that is the reason why I would urge the Government to ensure that tree planting is not The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}