The MAU FOREST OPTIONS
Posted by africanpress on July 24, 2008
The current saga about imminent MAU evictions in October is a crisis that must not be allowed to happen. First of all, I believe vacating and protecting MAU is not an option neither is it debatable. It is imperative, a must and long overdue. The debate is where the families affected will move to. My family lives at the very edge of Mau and I myself have good chunk of land along the Mau area. That is where I grew up, went to school and became the man (murenik ) that I am today. Deep in the tropical rain forest was my home for almost half of my life. Those days, the rain never stopped from morning till evening, from January to January. The rivers like Mara, Ambusket, Cheptuech, Chepkulo and others were much larger than the seasonal streams they have become today.
The bamboo trees were so huge that we carried water in them. The birds and monkey species were incomparable to anywhere else in the world. The plant and tree canopy species too and beautiful animals that made Mau one of the greatest treasures of Africa have long disappeared. The cedar and other hardwood and softwood trees that seemed indestructible are today nowhere to be found not only in the Mau but anywhere else in Africa. I mourn the loss of my beautiful childhood habitat that was the Western MAU escapement.
As to the options to the great loss of the Mau, the government needs to immediately identify alternative settlement for those who will be affected then move in fast to reforest the Mau. Rift Valley Politicians who seems to simply shout at anything initiated by the government especially by the Prime Minister have no vision or direction for the future of Kenya except their political survival. They pretend to be on the side of the people yet have no vision or plans for the communityʼs future survival. They are the same people who recently opposed the legislation for their selfish wages to be taxed. The people of Rift Valley and the rest of Kenya need to hear the truth about their future not political survival tactics of few individuals. The beauty and protection that Mau forest provides to the East African ecosystem and the people cannot be compromised at any cost. The Prime Minister Raila, must move on without fear to protect our unique treasure in the Mau. True leadership decisions are not made by the mobs but by visionaries.
David Bett
———-
API
