A company in Kericho County has announced its plan to auction 1,500 blue gum trees planted on a 2-acre piece of land near Kericho Town. The reserve price for the auction has been set at Ksh3 million.
The announcement came on Monday, July 3, shortly after President William Ruto lifted a six-year logging ban. The ban had been imposed by his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.
Ruto stated that lifting the ban would improve the economic conditions of residents in areas where logging was practiced. The auction in Kericho has the potential to generate millions of Kenyan shillings for the company if successful.
Interested bidders are encouraged to inspect the blue gum trees before submitting their best buying prices. Successful bidders will also be responsible for overseeing the cutting of the trees. The company states that the trees will be sold “as is, where is.”
Winning bidders will need to make payments within 15 days. They would also be required to remove the blue gum trees within 30 days of the award.
In 2018, the Kenyan government implemented a logging ban on all community and public land. This was done as part of an effort to reassess and rationalize the forest sector in the country.
The ban aimed to protect important water catchment areas nationwide. The suspension of logging in public forests was also meant to boost the regeneration of forests after years of mass deforestation that threatened the country’s biodiversity and water towers.
Following the ban, Kenya’s forest cover would go on to increase by six thousand hectares. Despite the growth, Kenya’s forest cover remains below the targeted 10 percent of the land mass.
While lifting the ban, President Ruto emphasized that mature trees would be harvested to meet the demand for timber. He further added that this was to be done without going against the administration’s vision to address climate change.
