Mutharika launches 2017/18 tree-planting season: ‘I want Malawi green, everywhere’
President Peter Mutharika on Monday December 18 officially launched the 2017/18 tree planting season at an event that took place at Catholic Primary School ground in the area of Traditional Authority Nthache in the district with a call for stakeholders to play a leading role in environmental conservation.
Mutharika said his government would remain resolved to making Malawi green again as one way of restoring the country’s natural resources, especially forest.
“This is why I am deliberately putting on a green shirt to underscore the point of making Malawi green and ever green like it was the case before we created all the deforestation,” Mutharika added.
In the 2017/2018 tree planting season that is under the theme ‘Restore forests, protect the environment’, over 60 million trees are expected to be planted across the country.
Mutharika stressed on the need for other stakeholders to emulate steps being taken by the private sector such as Airtel Malawi in making sure that trees are being planted in different parts of the country.
“I would like to commend Airtel for donating K4.5 million towards this year’s planting season. They have also provided 34,000 seedlings which will be planted across the country,” he said.
Mutharika said there is need for the trees “to be taken care of once planted” as they help hold the soil and avoid other negative implications that occur due to the unnecessary cutting down of trees.
“ I want Malawi green; I want to see green everywhere.”
Speaking earlier, Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Aggrey Masi hailed the President for championing the cause of restoring natural resources, particularly forests as demonstrated in his leadership during the launch.
Masi disclosed that at least 60 million seedlings have been targeted to be planted this season nationwide.
“As you all may be aware, this is an annual event whose aim is to emphasize the importance of natural resources and forests in general. 60 million trees have been earmarked to be planted this year alone,” Masi said, adding that Malawi was part of the Global Environmental Campaign to afforest 4.5 million hectares.
At the function the President and the First Lady Gertrude Mutharika planted two mbawa and tangerine trees each.
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Do we me make followups on the growth progress of trees we always claim to planted each year. Otherwise this excercise will be useless…
Planting trees wile on a red carpet? Shame
This man is not serious. He travels bewtween Blantyre and Lilongwe by road and sees thousands of bags of charcoal along the way but does nothing. This man is not here to save the environment. This man is here to serve Malawians. He is trully a prince of thieves. I hope Chilima is made VP so that he takes over when the prince of thieves gets incarpacitated. That is the wish of all Malawians. We cannot have a country that is 24 hours in darkness. He boasts of roads. Who brought the good road toMwanza? Kamuzu. There is no single… Read more »
ndivuto la magetsili nkumadandaulanso kuti anthu akuothya makala
Actually the Prince of Thieves is forcing most of us to use makala.What is the source of makala? The same trees the prince is asking us not to cut. Mulli waononga Chikangawa kufuna kulemera.
Malawi just like many African countries is poor, its people are poor, but this fact comes amidst innermost pinch of pain. But then we know everything originates from the fact that we were once colonised as indigenous Africans we have lived to admire the white people. We wish we act and behave like them, but then some sense of reality tells me something else. The white people are real and natural. If their presidents are to plant a tree for example, they would dare to get in contact some dirt. I do not understand this style of planting trees on… Read more »
Mitengo ikadzalidwa chonchi munyengoyi do you monitor its survival rate? Are the trees planted today taken care of come tomorrow? Kuwononga ma million of kwachas for this event when little is invested to care for the trees. What I see is one step forward two steps backwards that’s why we have more land becoming bare now than ever before despite bla bla bla of 60 million trees earmarked for planting. Invest and emphasize for care also on already planted trees.
Agwape inu you’re dunderheads really.