Mandera unveils this year's World Green City award

Mandera Governor Mohamed Khalif yesterday unveiled the world green city awards for 2024 during Mazingira Day ceremony.

The international award that was won in a competition that ended on September 24 has seen Mandera county contest alongside United Kingdom’s Liverpool and Australia’s Melbourne.

As the county celebrated its recognition as a green city by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), Khalif believes the award was brought about through collective efforts to restore the environment.

"This award is not merely a trophy. It symbolises the hard work, dedication, and vision we have all shared in our collective efforts to restore and enhance our environment," said Governor Khalif at Mandera Stadium.

Residents at that venue welcomed the award that was won by the county government at Australia's Melbourne city.

While reaffirming his commitment to a greener and more sustainable future, Kalif said his administration distributed 5000 seedlings across the six sub-counties to mark the Mazingira Day national occasion.

"As part of today's celebration, we have participated in planting over 1,000 trees and distributed 5,000 more seedlings to our residents, contributing to our Manifesto pledge and the national initiative of planting 15 billion trees," he said.

Mandera was among seven grand winners that were announced at the Future Green City World Congress and that opens more doors for the county to embrace greening.

Mandera County Government has rolled out a greening initiative where more than 250, 000 trees have been planted in Mandera municipality alone.

The governor, in a previous interview with The Standard, said his administration intends to plant a billion trees by the end of his five-year term. 

To fulfill his manifesto, Governor Khalif enlisted some 1300 women amid efforts to raise and nurture the trees within Mandera municipality.

"Today, I acknowledge the tireless efforts of the women in our community who have been the backbone of our greening initiatives," Khalif said.

Under the greening initiative, every woman adopts a tree and nurtures it as they are paid a stipend of Sh10,000 monthly to motivate them to do the work.

"Looking ahead, our vision aligns with Kenya's Vision 2030, which aims to transform our nation into a globally competitive and prosperous country." Said the governor.