Dongo Kundu – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has committed to enhancing environmental conservation and community empowerment through a significant tree planting and mangrove forest conservation initiative in the Coast region. The organization is actively identifying areas where mangrove forests are at risk of degradation or severe deforestation.
According to Kenya News Agency, KRA aims to support local communities by sourcing and purchasing seedlings, and raising awareness about the importance of conservation. Speaking at a tree planting exercise in Dongo Kundu, Lawrence Siele, the Southern Region Coordinator (RC) for KRA, stated that the Authority is striving to align with the government’s goal to plant 15 billion trees over a decade.
Siele reported that KRA is on track with its tree planting targets and areas earmarked for afforestation and rehabilitation. He emphasized the role of the local community as leaders in these conservation efforts, with KRA providing support, acknowledging that the residents are the primary beneficiaries of the mangrove conservation. In partnership with the Kenya Forest Service, KRA has positioned the community at the forefront of these efforts.
In a recent National Tree Planting Day, KRA planted 10,000 trees, marking the first phase towards a goal of planting 34,000 trees in the coastal region. Siele also highlighted KRA’s progress in increasing revenue collection in the Southern region, attributing success to digitization of revenue collection processes and the introduction of revenue service assistants. These initiatives have helped close gaps previously caused by manual transactions and centralized revenue mobilization.
With a regional revenue target of Sh642 billion, customs are expected to contribute Sh618 billion, and domestic taxes are projected to bring in an additional Sh24 billion.