Laboso calls for rehabilitation of dams in Bomet to avert disasters

Governor Joyce Laboso

The county government is set to rehabilitate dams in the region to avert potential disasters.

Governor Joyce Laboso said in the wake of the Patel Dam accident in Nakuru, her administration would conduct inspections of all dams to ensure that they were in good condition.

Dr Laboso also revealed that the county government would build new dams to improve water supply to residents.

The governor was speaking in Siongiroi in Chepalungu, where she led a tree-planting exercise. More than 30,000 seedlings were planted in Chepalungu Forest.

She said the county was seeking to plant more than 500,000 trees in an attempt to revive the forest, which had been depleted by loggers more than three decades ago.

The governor also sought to set the record straight on the amount of forest cover in the county, saying it stood at 20 per cent and not 12 per cent.

She called on the Kenya Forest Service to be steadfast in managing tree plantations and forests to make the tree-planting campaign meaningful.

The forest cover in the country currently stands at seven per cent, which is below the recommended minimum of 10 per cent. The national government hopes to plant 50 million trees this year.