- Also to be recruited are 40 forest assistants and 260 foresters.
- The recruitment of the rangers is in line with President William Ruto’s agenda of attainment a 30 per cent forest cover by 2032.
Image: Courtsey
There will only be one recruitment centre for the forest rangers in each of the 47 counties, the Kenya Forest Service has declared.
In the exercise to be conducted on March 8, at least 2,000 youth will be enlisted in what KFS termed as the first major recruitment since its inception in 2007.
In an advisory issued Tuesday, media among other key bodies have been invited to observe the event “in the interest of the general public”.
In Nairobi for example, the exercise will be conducted at the Nyayo National Stadium, Mombasa (Tononoka grounds), Kisumu (Mamboleo showground), Lamu (Kibaki grounds) and Nakuru at the ASK grounds.
The recruitment of the rangers is in line with President William Ruto’s agenda of attaining a 30 per cent forest cover by 2032.
Also to be recruited are 40 forest assistants and 260 foresters.
Speaking during the Mashujaa Day celebrations last year, Ruto directed KFS to recruit 2,700 forest rangers and 600 forest officers to help in the realisation of his dream of planting 15 billion trees in the next five years.
He expressed his concern about climate change and its impact on the country noting only 5.2 million square kilometres of the country’s 59.2 million square kilometres were under forest cover.
“Without a doubt, climate change is complicating our roadmap towards socio-economic transformation and achievement of sustainable development goals,” he said.
The terms of employment for these positions, KFS said, will be on a permanent and pensionable basis upon successful completion of the training and subsequent confirmation.
Training of the recruits is conducted at the KFS college in Londiani, Kericho.
The institution also provides technical courses in forestry-related fields, and capacity-building short courses for the KFS staff.
“KFS invites qualified, performance-driven and highly motivated individuals to fill the positions of a forest ranger, forest assistant and forester," the notice reads.
"This will enable the service to fulfil its mandate effectively and drive the country towards the attainment of 30 per cent tree cover by 2032, from the current 12.13 per cent."