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Ruto’s 15 billion tree-planting project hit by funding snag
President William Ruto (left) plants a seedling during a tree planting race at Kaptagat Girls High School in Keiyo South Constituency, Elgeyo Marakwet County on July 13, 2024.
The government’s Sh500 billion tree-planting initiative has faced funding and spending challenges, leaving key agencies struggling to implement the initiative, in a new turn of events that risks jeopardising a plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032.
The State Department for Forestry did not spend a shilling on two key tree-growing initiatives during the quarter to September 2024, the latest Controller of Budget (COB) has revealed in a report exposing possible struggles for the initiative.
While Treasury released Sh400 million funding for the two projects during the period, there was no spending on the tree-growing initiatives, and the exchequer did not release money to fund nurseries and seed processing units.
The lack of spending on tree-planting came in the wake of limited funding from the exchequer, as the State Department for Forestry received just two percent of its annual development budget in the quarter.
“In the first three months of FY 2024/2025, the State Department for Irrigation received the highest proportion of development exchequer issues to development net estimates at 28 percent, while the State Department for Forestry received the lowest at two percent,” the COB noted.
This further delays the two State projects on tree-growing and rangeland restoration which were started in 2019 and are expected to run until 2032, when the State expects to have planted 15 billion trees.
The government has budgeted Sh500 billion for the two projects that started in July 2019 and run until June 2032. Only Sh3.5 billion (0.7 percent) had been spent cumulatively over five years since start of the projects in 2019 to September 2024, leaving a balance of Sh496 billion to be spent in the remaining eight years.
While the projects started in 2019, President William Ruto's regime has since last year popularised the initiative, touting it as the way for the country to expand its forest cover, and challenging government agencies to plant trees at institutional level.
The COB notes that despite being mandated with crucial responsibilities including promotion of forestry development policy, re-afforestation and an administration of forestry research to realise ecological balance within forests, funding for the state department for forestry has been a challenge.
“The original budgetary allocation to the state department for forestry in FY 2024/25 amounted to Sh13.06 billion, revised to Sh12.08 billion in Supplementary Estimates I, compared to Sh14.38 billion allocated in a similar period in FY 2023/24,” the COB noted.
The report also notes that a project for establishment of nurseries, water supply systems and water desalination by the state department did not attract any funding during the quarter, even as the clock ticks towards the 2032 deadline.
The Sh1 billion project was started in July 2022 and a total of Sh74 million has been spent so far.
The state department also has a Sh2.15 billion project for construction of tree seed processing units that did not attract any funding in the three months to September, extending further delays on an initiative started in 2017 and which is expected to be completed by 2030.
Less than a third (32 percent) of the budget for construction of tree seed processing units had been utilized by the end of September, eight years since the project started in January 2017, leaving a Sh1.46 billion balance to be spent in the remaining six years.
During the three months, the state department produced 5,016 tree seeds and seedlings, out of an annual target of 100,000.
