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{
    "id": 958587,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/958587/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 248,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kibiru",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13196,
        "legal_name": "Charles Reubenson Kibiru",
        "slug": "charles-reubenson-kibiru"
    },
    "content": "Having said that, a few issues need to be highlighted as we conclude this Motion. For example, there is need to have a policy to ensure that it is mandatory for everybody who gets a contract, whether to put marram on a road in a rural area, tarmac a highway, or build classrooms in schools and other Government institutions, to plant trees. Infrastructure is not necessarily roads. When a Government institution or schools are built or a borehole is dug, as long as the contract is given by the national or county governments, we should make it mandatory that a number of trees should be planted. Another issue that came up is that it is important to give incentives to people with idle land to encourage them to plant trees. We need to agree on the acreage. If someone has a reasonable piece of land, because land has been demarcated a lot, we can give incentives for people who plant trees purely for purposes of aesthetics and for other benefits that we talked about. They include prevention of soil erosion and preservation of ecosystems. For purposes of sustaining the various ecosystems, both the national and county governments need to come up with policies on incentives. I plant trees on my three acres of land and I will not cut or harvest them for the next 20 years. How do we provide incentives to ensure that people sustain trees? Incentives will encourage people to plant trees. Sen. Wamatangi talked about planting trees where we already have infrastructural development. For example, if you pass along Mombasa Road, you will realise all the acacia trees that used to be there have been cut down. We could resolve, for example, that the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) should ensure that we have trees along the highway to Mombasa. I believe we have tree experts in this country. For example, we have the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) with highly trained scientists who know different species of trees and where they can be grown. Those are some of the issues that came up during debate on this Motion and they will be captured when I take it to the next level to have a Bill. The Government has a lot of idle land. Before it decides on what it wants to do with many parcels of land that we see as we go to the national parks or game reserves, it should consider planting trees. Both the national and county governments should take the issue of planting trees seriously. In this country, there is a tendency of people not walking the talk. That is why as a Senate, we must help our governments to address the question of “how?” A number of issues have been raised and way forwards proposed. I believe we have captured a number of them. I promise to follow up on the recommendations made by Senators. When we will be preparing a Bill, we will follow up on the implementation of the recommendations by Senators while contributing to this Motion. 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."
}