Just before participating in the now popular tree planting day, President William Ruto held a meting with International Monetary Fund Mission to Kenya.
Ruto however seized the opportunity to urge the visitors to participate in the tree planting activity in a bid to ensure that the target of 10 million trees is attained.
Ruto said that the visitors would not be allowed to leave the country without planting trees.
“Before you leave Nairobi you must plant a tree. I have issued very firm instructions that nobody leaves the airport until they have planted a tree. So please plant your tree. When you plant that tree, because we need to look after the trees when you leave, please download either in Apple Store or Android, an app it is called Jaza Miti, download take a picture of the tree it will go into our website, we will know where the tree is and take care of it after you have planted,” he said.
The head of state added that the national tree planting day is targeting to plant 100 million seedlings.
“It is because we have made a commitment that we are going to plant 15 billion trees in the next 10 years,” he further explained.
In Kiu, Makeuni County, during the #NationalTreePlantingDay. pic.twitter.com/T8vGDHYxlY
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) November 13, 2023
The tree planting holiday however will not be marked every year. National Assembly leader Kimani Ichungwa said that it was only gazetted this year to encourage Kenyans to participate in climate change mitigation measures.
“The public holiday today is not a public holiday every other year. It is only this year that it was gazetted as a way of educating Kenyans and providing civic education of encouraging Kenyans to participate in climate change mitigation measures including the planting of tree. Therefore it will not be a holiday every year but I want to request Kenyans to make use every other day that they have time and space to plant a tree, let everyday in Kenya be a tree planting day,” he said while participating ain a tree planting activity in Kiambu.