Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua now wants charcoal burning and sand harvesting to be banned countrywide.
Mutua argues that the ban is the first step in conserving the environment which is under threat.
Speaking to journalists at the county offices on Wednesday, Mutua said all the 47 county governments must take bold steps if the war against environmental degradation is to be won.
Mutua said the country will continue to experience harsh environmental conditions unless every Kenyan stands up and says no to logging, charcoal burning and sand harvesting.
“It is time we put politics aside and support initiatives that will protect our environment as a country that is under threat,” Mutua said.
The Governor warned that future generations will be in trouble if proper measures to protect the environment are not taken now.
Governor Mutua, while supporting Kitui government ban on charcoal ban asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare logging and environmental degradation a national disaster.
He said rivers were drying up as a result of human activities that pose threat to the environment.
“It is time the national government declared environmental degradation a disaster that need urgent mitigation, ’’ Mutua said.
Mutua said the country’s forest cover had been dwindling over the years.
He blamed cartels in the forest sector for illegal logging.
On Monday, Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko formed a 10 member task force team to review the country’s forest cover and come up with mitigative measures to stop logging and recommend proper ways to conserve the environment.
This comes as pressure piles on police to arrest governor Ngilu for allegedly inciting locals to burn vehicles found ferrying charcoal in the county.
Ngilu has denied inciting locals to violence, maintaining that the ban on charcoal is unstoppable.
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