Punish officials undermining logging ban

The negative effects of deforestation are there for all to see. Weather patterns have increasingly become erratic. Poor rainfall patterns have translated into poor agricultural yield and the scarcity of water has wreaked havoc on both man and animal, yet all these problems are not due to natural attrition. They are the products of willful destruction of the ecosystem by unscrupulous individuals within society.

Our forest cover, at 6 per cent, is way below the recommended 10 per cent of the total land area as a consequence of unregulated logging activities, encroachment on forests and charcoal burning.

Last month, the government imposed a ban on logging as a means of controlling the destruction our forests have been subjected to in the mindless greed for money.

The Cabinet Secretary for Environment has initiated measures that will ensure we reclaim our lost and receding forests. Sadly, those efforts will amount to nothing because the agencies charged with enforcing the ban on logging are engaged in the same vice.

Not less than five government vehicles have separately been seized while ferrying bags of charcoal and timber. Only senior government officials have the authority to sign work tickets for government vehicles, which raises the question; who authorized the police Lorries that have were seized to go on those errands?

Impunity within the ranks of government must be dealt with decisively if corruption is to be effectively tackled. Police officers, particularly, have been repeatedly caught with their hands in the cookie jar, but no action is ever taken.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission needs to earn its upkeep.