President William Ruto defended the government’s move to lift the logging ban in government forests that was imposed six years ago. While s...
President William Ruto defended the government’s move to lift the logging ban in government forests that was imposed six years ago. While speaking on Sunday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Molo, Nakuru, 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. Ruto Reasons why- Ruto Ruto said the move was “long overdue”. And was aimed at creating jobs and opening up sectors of the economy that rely on forest products. “We can’t have mature trees rotting in forests while locals suffer due to lack of timber. That’s foolishness,” he said. Timber “This is why we have decided to open up the forest and harvest timber so that we can create jobs for our youth and open up business.“ Ruto, who has positioned himself at the forefront of African efforts to combat climate change, said the government would push ahead with plans to plant 15 billion trees over 10 years. The end of the ban is likely to delight saw millers and timber merchants who protested that it had caused major job losses. The moratorium was imposed by the previous government in February 2018 in public and community forests with the aim of stamping out rampant illegal logging and increasing the nation’s forest cover to 10 percent. By Wanjiru Mbaru The post RUTO LIFTS THE BAN ON LOGGING appeared first on BNN.
