FORMER PRESIDENT DANIEL ARAP MOI AND TWO MPs ARE AMONG THE LAND GRABBERS IN THE CONTROVERSIAL MAU FORESTCOMPLEX

By Leo Odera Omolo

Two MPs and former President Daniel Arap Moi are among thousands of the beneficiaries of land acquisitions in the Mau Forest water catchment area, our investigations has revealed.

Franklin Bett (Buret) and the late Kipkalya Kones (Bomet)and a Mr. Sam Chepkwony and a retired former Corporate Director of Brooke Bond Tea Company each own 100 acres of prime land in the Mau Forest and have so far planted tea and other crops in their farms, we can now authoritatively report..

The former MP for Ainamoi Noah Nondin Arap Too also own a 70 acres Tea farm right in the middle of the Mau Forest, while Moi has the Lion’s share in Olenguruone area known as Kaptagich where he has planted 3000 hectares as part of a nucleus estate farm to supportand supplying his privately owned Kiptagich Tea Factory with green leaves tea constructed right in the middle of Mau Forest about 10 years ago.

Kones and Bett acquired a portion of 400 acres of land which the Brook Bond Tea Company had surrendered back to the government for the conservation of water catchment areas.

The acquisition of the Mau forest land by the two MPs happened while Bett was serving the government as State House Comptroller. He invited school boyfriend Kones who was then serving in the cabinet’s powerful position of the Minister of State in the Office of the PresidentThe two had invited two other friends who pestered President Moi to allow them to grab the land which the Brook Bond had used for Tree Planting.

Noah Too’s 70 acres farm is very close to the Tea research Institute of Kenya Farm. It could be affected if the government insists on kicking illegal farmers out of the Mau Complex.

Mau Complex is the source of close to 13 important major rivers emptying waters in to Lake Victoria, therefore its wanton destruction will have a serious environmental repercussions and consequences to million of people not only in Kenya, but in the neighbouring countries like Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda and to a far field like Egypt and the Sudan.

United Nations Environmental Programme has warned that Kenya stands to lose USD 300 million in revenue from tea, tourism and energy if the forests of the country’s Mau Complex continue to be degraded and destroyed.

For the past few years, the United Nations Environmental Programme has been documenting the continued destruction and erosion of the vital ecosystem. It has reached a point where if no measures are taken, Kenya will lose one of its fundamental assets, said UNEP executive Director Achim Steuner.

The excision and the widespread encroachment have led the to the destruction of nearly quarter of the Mau Complex area over the 15 years,” observed Kenya’s prime minister Raila Amolo Odinga at a recent forum convened by the government to highlight the need to restore the forest.

“Such extensive and ongoing destruction of key natural asset for the country is nothing less than a national emergency,” Mr. Odinga was quoted extensively by the weekly EASTAFRICAN as having told the participants at the forum.

“A high level talk force was established to address encroachment in to the forest”

Mr. Odinga told the participants that a new enforcement structures will also be set up to tackle rampant illegal logging and charcoal burning in the area.

The forum highlighted the need to restore the forest,” We are looking at restoring the largest water tower of this country and all the services it provides top the nation. We are looking at securing the livelihoods of millions of people who depend directly and indirectly on the Mau Forest Complex,” added Mr. Odinga.

The market value of goods and services generated annually in Tea, Tourism and Energy sectors to which the forests of Mau Complex have contributed, is over Kshs 20 billion (USD 303 million).

This does not reflect provisional services such as water supply for urban area like Bomet, Egerton University, Elburgon, Eldama Ravine, Kericho, Molo, Nakuru, Narok and Njoro- or support to rural livelihoods, in particular in the Lake Victoria basin outside the Tea growing areas.

The estimated potential hydro power generation in the Mau Complex Catchments is about 535 MW, representing 57 % of the current total electricity generation capacity in Kenya.

Degazettement of forest reserves and continuous widespread encroachment have led to the destruction of some 104,000 hectares representing 0ver 24 % of the Mau Complex area over the last 10 years.

Smallholderr tea farmers appear to have been hardest hit by the decline in production.

For instance, Mr. Soy said, the average earning per small holder farmer in the area dropped from Kshs 2,295 (USD 35) in 2005 to a mere 2Kshs 447.50( USD 3.75) one year later.

Players in the tea sector have urged the government of Kenya to protect indigenous forest and conserve water catchment areas at all costs.

The country’s agricultural based economy could change forever should the government fail to relocate the people settled in the Mau Forest Complex.

Players in the tea Sector say the confirmed destruction of the forests led to a drop of 89 % production among small holder’s producers between the year 2005 and 2006 respectively.

This is because unlike other crops, tea thrives well in optimal climatic conditions found on forested hilly areas.

“Tea growing areas are located near mountains forests,” according to Mr. Wilson K. Soy, a representative of the Mau region Tea sector, during a workshop called recently by the government to chat forward away out of the environment crisis.

Soy explained that the tea crops needs constant moisture, modest soil temperature-between 16 and 25 degree Celsius-and equally pleasant temperatures-10to 30 degrees. Such conditions can only be found in a forest highland. And that the Mau region is a major contributor to tea production in Kenya, is underscored by the fact that last year alone, farmers there produced 966 million kg of green tea valued at Kshs. 19 billion (USD 288 million)

In addition, as many as 366,000 people are directly employed in tea production there, while up to 2,150,000 others depend on it indirectly. Apart from this, various tea factories in the area have been producing 4.25 Megawatts of electricity.

But with the ongoing destruction of the 400,000hectare forest complex, the area’s importance in tea production is likely to suffer irreparable damage.

The destruction has not only led to a reduction in the total amount of rainfall in tea growing areas, but has also negatively affected rainfall distribution elsewhere, leading to drought.

According to the data presented by Mr. Soy a comparison between the average amount of rainfall over two 10-year periods-between 1986 and 1995 and from 1996 to 2005- shows that average rainfall has declined by 114.88 millimetres over the entire area.

For instance, the data shows that in the months shows that total rainfall eas above 401 mm, tea production rose from 411.3 to 428 tonnes per hectare. However, when monthly rainfall was below 100 mm, the entries region experienced dismal productivity that ranged between 0.7 and 113.5 tonnes per each hectare.

“Drought has caused a lot of suffering to farmers and has reduced consistently money circulation within business circles and the economic,” Mr. Soy added.

With ongoing threat in mind, players in the tea sector have asked the government to set up a regional forest trust to oversee the welfare of the forest in each area in the region.

They have also urged the government to protect independent forests and conserve water catchment areas.

More importantly the stakeholders have called on Kenyans to plant more trees “imagine if 50 per cent of Kenyan or 18 million people plant and care for five trees each year. This would result in 90 million trees planted,” in years, we will have 900 million trees, which would enable us move towards the 10 per cent forest cover recommended by the UN, said Mr. Soy.

End.
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

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POLICE in Migori are winning the war against organized crime which for sometime has been bedeviling the largest town close to the Kenya- Tanzania border.

By Leo Odera Omolo

There has been remarkable increase in cases of violence robberies in which the gangsters using sophisticated modern weapons have been terrorizing the business community in this fast growing town.

In most cases the gangsters are targeting the drivers of small taxis, which are commonly known as “oluenda”. Once these thugs seized the vehicle they immediately used it for hold up in major shops or by way laying country buses traveling from Nairobi to Migori or to the small border town of Sirare.
Early this week three gangsters were gunned down inside a sugar plantation near Uriri town. The police encountered the gangsters after hours of a well coordinated chase.

The gang of four or five had snatched a colossal amount of money from a woman employee of a major hardware shop in Migori Town. The female employee of the Jumbo store was taking the cash to a nearby Kenya Commercial Bank branch at about 9:30 am. A member of the gang had been seen mingling with customers inside the shops while three other were seated in a vehicle which was parked a few meters away from the shop.

As the female employee of the shop made a few steps outside the shop on her way to the bank, a two minute walk, she was grabbed by the neck by one of the gangsters who had been seen standing idly outside the shop. She screamed, but was overpowered when three or four other gangsters who were waiting in the escape car joined their colleague.

The gang grabbed the sum of Kshs. 960, 00 in hard cash. They immediately jumped into the waiting vehicle. But as they sped away, the woman’s attracted a dozen or so boda boda bicycle taxis and a gang of motor bike taxis who pelted their car with stones.

The gang opened fire with deafening outburst of guns from what looked like AK 47 rifle or a G3 rifle exploding more than six rounds of ammunition. The people in the nearby bar restaurants, kiosks and main shops ran helter skelter for their dear life.

It took something like ten minutes before the police from Migori Main police station arrived and joined in the chase. The officers were under the command of the deputy OCS Mr. Gerald Barasa. This time around the police which have always been vilified were highly praised.

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Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 07:15:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: MAU FOREST land grabbers includes FORMER PRESIDENT MOI; Migori winning against organized crime;