Kenya: NGO’s angered by the government
Posted by africanpress on May 2, 2008
Publisher: Korir, africanpress@getmail.no
By Leo Odera Omolo.
A NON governmental organisation (Ngo),and several Community Based Organizations have raised serious concern over the wanton destruction of Mau Forest,which is located in Narok and also in the new Molo Disrict.
Experts are also raising concern over the future of the multibillions dollar Sondu – Miriu Hydroelectric power projects based in Odino near Sondu town downstream as its major sources of water supply, which is the Mau water catchment areas upstream is likely to dry up as a result of indiscriminate felling of forest trees.
The organizations are said to be in the process of petitioning the government to move in with speed and reverse the effects of illegal logging, charcoal burning and other unchecked human activities in this important life saving forest, located in the South West Highland of the Rift Valley.
Forest action Network ( FAN) progress officer Mr. Jackson Kiplangat was recently quoted by a newspaper entitled Scent Rift Times as saying that here was the need for government community participation in the forest conservation.
“The wanton destruction of trees in the forest had for several years been done with the full knowledge and participation of the foresters who should be held accountable says Dr. Barnabas Ng’eno of the Kenya Nile Discourse Focal Point Five.
He added that the community living along the forest need to be sacrificed on the need to conserve the forest when it is a regional water source.
The law enforcers were also to blame for laxity and complicity in the enforcement of the existing laws which had seen a marked rise in depletion of the forest in the recent past.
Most of reparian upstream rivers feeding Lake Victoria with Water Oriented from Mau Forest that include River Mora which traverses and then runs through the Maasai land crosses into the neighbouring Tanzania where it is empting its water into Lake Victoria near Musoma Town.
Others are River Miruu, Nyando,, Migori, Kuja, Oyani and other smaller streams originates from Mau forest as their major sources of water supply..
The issue of the wanton destruction of Mai forest came up during the workshop held at Kericho Emmanuel African Gospel Church, which was organized by FAN officials.
During the meeting, speaker after speaker accused foresters working in the region for colluding with timber merchants to cause destruction. A participant, Mr. Kimeto said it was futile to fund environmental conservation issues in the region when those charged with the responsibility were colluding and causing destruction.
Some NGO’s were also accused of failing to conduct environmental conservation programmes despite of their having been been funded adequately my international donor agencies.
Local authorities in the South Rift Region were also blamed of failing to collect garbage refuse and unblock sewerage drainage in urban centres.
“It takes several weeks for the local institution to collect garbage and repair the burst sewages despite the fact that they are prompt and collecting levies from the residents.
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African Press International - api
May 4, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Open letter to James Orengo, Minister for Lands
The issue of land is Kenya is very hot, and it is said to be the course of the recent bad blood between certain tribes. If this is the case, and I don’t think it is, let us hope that now that we have an ODM minister something is going to be done about land in Kenya as a whole.
First of all, I wonder why nobody in the Kibaki government except Wangari Maathai tried to do something about the wanton destruction of forests. Today we have a government of fairly well educated people, even if we do have some form 4 dropouts, (better than having standard 2 dropouts). I know you are not the minister for environment, but as the land minister, I think it is your duty now to see that the destruction of forests comes to an end. You are a well educated man and we are hoping that if nothing else, you will at least be able to do this much for the country and for the region for the sake of us all, because we need those forests which are first disappearing.
Second ; If land is such a hot issue, why do we still have settlers holding on to thousands of acres of land and paying peanuts for it as land rent, while millions of Kenyans have no land. I hope you are not going to be like Kamunya and tell us that the agreement at independence was for them to hold the land for 999 years - that is an insult to all of us. Let these people give up half of it so some indigenous Kenyas can also have land, necause we can also afford to pay the government the same peanuts they are paying for land, which was Kenyan land before it was forcefully taken from them.
Third: Another very crucial issue is the land at the coast. Have Kenyans ceded Malindi to Italians and Germans? Even now there is a case where some Italians want to build villas on the coral reef; CORAL REEF! Who ever heard of such folly? Would they be allowed to do so in Italy? No! Can they do it in Tanzania, or Mozambique or any other country with a coast line anywhere in the world? No! This can only happen in Kenya, and I will tell you why. Ni kama watu wa Kenya wamerogwa. Bribes, it has all to do with bribes. All most officials and high ranking kenyans seem to think about is me, me, me. They get bribed left, center and right without any shame. When issues pertaining to these foreigners go to court they always end up getting what they want. We do everything the mzungus want here. We let them come over here to buy land, making the price of land shoot up so high that it is almost impossible for locals to afford it. Why can’t Kenyans say no more land to foreigners! And the worst thing about it is they come here, buy land, settle, invite their friends who come here, buy land, settle and it goes on and on. Soon they start treating the locals as if we are nothing, so much so that in some beaches they don’t want to see a black face except the man who is sweeping and picking up takataka. When will all this end?
ODM has come into the government with promises of better governance and better things. Can they please start with putting a stop to foreign domination in Malindi, and as you ask for IDPs to be settled in other places, look also at the issue of the settlers who have been allowed to own land, paying Kshs 4.50 an acre a year for 999 years. Show us that ODM is different!
May 6, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Mr. Orengo,
I hope you read this blog, and I would like to tell you, if you read this, that I made a mistake in appealing to you over land issues. How can you say that the IDPs should not be resettled in the Rift Valley? You seem to be one of those people who are dividing Kenyans and I have a question to ask you. Since you have property in Nairobi, how would you like it if you were told to go back to your ancestral land and leave your property so others can claim it because it is in their ancestral lands?
Well I guess all we can look forward to is people kicking others out of their legally acquired properties, and in the meantime, foreigners take over the Kenyan coast.