•There has been a spike in the prices of timber and wood products.
•Jobs have been lost and properties of many timber traders auctioned for non-repayment of bank loans.
The government has been asked to review the nationwide ban on logging as it has caused a sharp increase in the prices of timber and wood products.
A section of leaders in Nakuru on Wednesday said the ban was a big blow to builders and workers in the timber industry across the country.
Senator Susan Kihika said jobs had been lost and properties of many timber traders auctioned for non-repayment of bank loans.
The ban on logging and extraction of timber in all public and community forests was imposed on February 24, last year before it was extended to later this year.
Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko then said more time is required for the full implementation of new measures to protect forests.
Kihika said,“many builders are postponing their projects indefinitely, a situation that threatens the growth of the sector, hence a drawback to industrialisation." Industrialisation is one of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big Four agendas.
Molo MP Kimani Kuria said the ban, intended to protect Kenya’s fast depleting forest cover, has resulted in much suffering.
“There is a limited supply of the commodity; many people who were working in the industry have been rendered jobless; industry players are finding it hard to obtain credit,” Kimani said.
Timber players said that the escalating prices of timber have forced some developers to start using light gauge steel trusses.
A steel truss is made of coiled steel covered with aluminium alloy for protection against corrosion.
“I used to work at a timber factory in Molo. Since the extension of the ban in logging, at least 50 workers have been sent home until the ban is lifted. I have a family of seven. I’m unable to pay for their basic needs as I do not have any source of income,” Joseph Kamau said.
Kimani said there was a proposal for a Sh18 billion budget to tackle the challenges of deforestation in the next five years.
Deforestation, encroachment, and degradation of water catchment areas and riparian land are the main causes of water shortage in the country.
According to the government, the extension of the ban will aid in the restoration and rehabilitation of the critical water catchment and natural forest areas currently estimated at 123,553 acres.
It will also allow for the replanting of cleared tree plantations estimated at 76,603 acres with indigenous trees. It is the intention of the government to achieve a 10 per cent forest cover by 2022.
A task force headed by the Green Belt Movement chairperson Marion Wakanyi was appointed on February 26, last year, to investigate forest resource management and logging actives at Kenya Forest Service.
It recommended strict enforcement on the ban of charcoal, eviction of illegal of settlers, audit lifestyle of KFS staff, and mandatory participation of both the county and national governments in national tree planting campaigns.