By Obegi Malack
obegimalack@gmail.com
Equity Group has kick started a tree planting exercise in Kajiado West Constituency and its environs aimed at increasing the country’s forest cover by 10 per cent by 2022.
Equity Bank Kiserian branch manager Pauline Kabiru said the exercise will see 35 million trees planted countrywide by next year.
Kabiru who led the tree planting exercise said her branch will plant more than 60,000 trees this year.
“We have a duty to the society that is planting trees, this will be touching the schools, churches, government areas, private homes and any other spaces that we will be given to plant trees,” she said. She urged locals to make use of the ongoing long rains by planting trees.
She noted that the Equity is aligning with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s appeal to push for increase of forest cover.
Kajiado County Senator Philip Mpayeei’s wife Florence Mpayeei commended the bank for the initiative and challenged locals to protect the trees, she noted that a good environment contributes to learners’ outstanding grades.
The Kiserian branch, local administrators and students planted trees in Olteyan Primary, Olteyan Secondary, Olooseos Mixed Secondary,Olooseos Girls and Olooseos Primary.
During the bank’s 35th Anniversary in October 2019 the Group CEO and Managing Director, Dr. James Mwangi said they had allocated Kshs 350 million towards the exercise.
Equity had partnered with Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to promote Farm Forestry Initiatives. It supports transition to clean energy that reduces reliance on wood fuel, charcoal and fossils fuels like kerosene as a source of energy.
Equity has other initiatives in the Energy and Environment space ongoing that have seen it plant more than 1 million trees in the Mau Water Tower in Narok County.
The national government will plant 2 billion trees within the next two years as a way of addressing world climate change.