This archive report was first published on 30 June 2020.
On Monday, June 29, 2020, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communications Technology and Innovation (PS), Jerome Ochieng, joined Kisumu Governor, Prof. Peter Anyang Nyong'o, and County Commissioner, Susan Waweru, to plant trees at Mbaka Oromo Dispensary in Kisumu West sub-county to commemorate Public Service week.
Speaking at the event, Ochieng decried the low forest cover in Kisumu County, which stands at a dismal 0.4 percent, far below the national average of 10 percent.
He challenged local farmers to venture into growing trees as a commercial enterprise, saying, 'We need to move away from just planting trees and start growing trees so that we tend to them the way we do our crops in order to start increasing forest cover to five percent in five years and eventually to 10 percent.'
The National Government has pledged to fully support the gazetting of hills by the Kisumu County Government as a first step to achieving 10 percent forest cover.
The Kisumu Governor has already approved the gazetting of Nyatiko, Koru, and Kajulu Hills in Seme, Muhoroni, and Kisumu West sub-counties, and a Bill before the County Assembly is expected to pass, making the areas a protected area to conserve the environment.
On a separate note, Ochieng announced that the National Government has allocated Sh. 10 billion under the second phase of the National Hygiene Programme, popularly known as Kazi Mtaani, to help cushion youth during the Covid-19 crisis.
The programme aims to scale up the number of youth to undertake the programme from the initial 8 pilot counties to countrywide, with the number of youth to be employed increasing from 26,000 to 27,000 and incorporating skilled youth.
