TALKING POINTS FOR USE BY AMB. (DR.) AMINA MOHAMED, EGH, CAV, CABINET SECRETARY FOR SPORTS, CULTURE AND HERITAGE DURING THE TREE PLANTING CEREMONY TO MARK THE WRC SAFARI RALLY GREENING LEGACY PROJECT

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank you all for joining us today and for supporting the WRC Safari Rally Greening Legacy project. This is an environmental conservation program aimed at planting 18 Million trees over the next three years to commemorate the 18 years that the Safari Rally was out of the World Rally Championship Circuit.

This year, we plan to plant 6 million trees. We have so far planted 653,000 trees in partnership with the Save Our Rivers Initiative. We hope to plant at least 1 million trees in Kisumu and Kakamega.

We are targeting parts of our wetlands affected by deforestation, traditional Safari Rally routes and the spectator stage at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

This project is driven by a multi-agency operation team in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Save Our Rivers Initiative (SORI) and other community-based partners. The partnership and ownership of this project at the community level has guaranteed survival rates of above 90% after the first year of planting making this project effective and sustainable.

The production and operation of automobiles have a substantial effect on the environment. The world has produced 60.5 million cars this year. It is anticipated that by December 31st, 2020, this number will increase to 67 million. Two new vehicles enter the roads every second. By 2030, this number will have risen to four vehicles every second. Most automobile production companies have adopted a conscientious model through efficient automobile manufacturing to reduce the carbon footprint that is produced by fuel consumption and emission of greenhouse gases.

This Safari Rally Greening Legacy project joins the FIA/WRC family’s model of giving back to nature. Our target is to create a Safari Forest at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani and plant trees along the traditional safari routes in Kilifi, Mombasa, Kwale, Taita Taveta, Machakos, Makueni, Murang’a, Meru, Nyeri, Embu, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Kajiado, Laikipia, Isiolo, Narok, Nakuru and Nairobi Counties. We have also added the Kakamega Rainforest and the Lake Basin Region into our target areas because of the centrality of the Kakamega forest and Lake Victoria to our natural ecosystem.

In conclusion, I welcome you all to follow the Safari Rally action when it returns to our country for the first time in 19 years from 24th to 27th June 2021. You can watch the action on KBC, our national broadcast partner or listen in at Capital FM, our official radio partner, joining 850 million others around the world who will be following the action through WRC TV.

The Safari Rally is a core part of our national heritage and will inject approximately Kshs. 6B into our economy and provide thousands of people with sources of livelihood for the next three years and prospectively, beyond this initial period.

Thank you and God Bless You.