Environment and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko, on Wednesday, revealed that he was embarrassed with the rate of deforestation in his home country, Kajiado.
Speaking during a meeting with Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs at Maasai Technical Training Institute in the county, the CS expressed his disappointment in how the natural resource was being managed in the county.
"I feel so embarrassed that I am in charge of the environment in the country and my home County, Kajiado is leading in destruction of the environment especially charcoal burning. You need to pull up your socks," he angrily declared.
Addressing the chiefs, an irritated Tobiko asked, "How come you don't know who is burning charcoal in your locality? You either don't know your job or you are sleeping on your job."
CS Tobiko called for a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) initiative to crack down on landowners and those involved in charcoal burning in the county.
To increase forest cover in the county, Tobiko directed the chiefs to come up with strategies and a clear implementation plan to embark on a massive tree growing campaign to ensure Kajiado County would be leading in tree growing.
He further directed the local administration personnel to map out learning institutions in their locality and identify the size of the land, the population of students, availability of water and a fence.
"Use your monthly barazas to carry out environmental education and awareness to educate the masses on the importance of environmental conservation as a business opportunity," he urged.
He maintained that a country could not be secured without a clean and healthy environment.
Regional Coordinators and county commissioners are in charge of environmental committees and matters environment in the regions and counties.
The President had earlier directed all county commissioners to ensure they plant 5 million trees each year and ensure chiefs establish nurseries in their wards.
