State House on the receiving end for charcoal tender

Some of the seized charcoal being offloaded at Mwingi Police Station on March 20, 2018, barely a month after a ban on logging was imposed. 

A non-governmental organization has criticized a recent tender offer by the State House Kenya for the supply of charcoal.

Greenpeace Africa in a press statement said the tender notice was a clear contradiction of the ongoing moratorium on logging.

“With a moratorium on logging in place, it is in bad taste for State House to put up tender seeking suppliers of charcoal,” said the statement quoting environmental campaigner Claire Nasike.

Nasike further added that the advertisement for charcoal from the president’s official residence was pure irony.

She said that during the One Planet Summit at the United Nations Environment Assembly, the President was committed towards the realization of 10 per cent forest cover in Kenya by 2020.

“State House should be at the forefront in supporting this moratorium by looking for cleaner alternative forms of fuel such as biogas,” she added.

The organization further alleged that the country’s runaway droughts are as a result of deforestation, therefore, State House ought to lead by an example in effecting afforestation.

According to Nasike: “Kenya’s government should put in place measures that will ensure full enforcement of the ban on logging. More importantly, the national government should ensure that the total ban on logging in all the community and gazetted forests are effectively implemented.” 

The current forest cover stands at 7.4 per cent.

The tender advert on charcoal comes in the wake of President Uhuru’s remarks at the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) where he said forestry was a key sector in the realization of his government development agenda.

The open tender on charcoal was advertised in local dailies on Tuesday.

The suppliers were directed to download application documents from its website and register for the document's categories at the head of the supply office.

According to a local daily, State House spokesperson Kanze Dena refused to comment on the tender and directed a journalist seeking clarification to State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua for comments

In February 2018, the government imposed a ban on logging for 90 days. However, upon the expiry of the days, the moratorium was extended for further one year.?