Africa-Press – Kenya. President William Ruto has defended the government’s move to lift the logging ban in government forests that was imposed six years ago.
He was speaking on Sunday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Molo, Nakuru where he said that mature trees are decaying in the forests yet the country imports timber.
Ruto said that those who import furniture will have to pay tax since he wants furniture made within the country.
“Trees are decaying in the forest while people are struggling to get timber. Do you see the foolishness? We have lifted the ban so that we can harvest mature trees. Whoever imports furniture will be taxed because we want all that to be made in the country,” Ruto said.
President Ruto’s administration is currently pushing to plant at least 15 billion across the country in a bid to restore forest cover in the next 10 years.
On Saturday, he led a tree planting exercise in Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans-Nzoia and Uasin Gishu Counties.
In May, Principal Secretary for Forestry Ephantus Kimotho said the logging ban will be lifted.
This he said was going to pave the way for planting more trees in government forests.
“We have exotic trees which are normally harvested upon reaching their maturity stage and those are the ones whose ban will be lifted so that others can immediately be planted during this rainy season,” Kimotho said.
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