- She said this was to ensure that it is conducted lawfully and in an environmentally sustainable manner,
- Tuya listed agroforestry and sustainable waste management as her ministry's top priorities this year.
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Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has said her ministry is in the process of streamlining the charcoal trade in the country.
She said this was to ensure that it is conducted lawfully and in an environmentally sustainable manner by putting in place appropriate legal safeguards.
"We also commit to decriminalize charcoal trade, modernize and commercialize the charcoal value chain, promote youth-owned and operated briquette-making enterprises and support the scaling up of clean cooking," CS Tuya said on Thursday.
She spoke during the signing of 2023 to 2024 financial year performance contracts with principal secretaries and chairmen of parastatals under her ministry at the Kenya Meteorological Department complex.
Tuya listed agroforestry and sustainable waste management as her ministry's top priorities this year.
"In this regard, the priority value chains for intervention include biomass energy (wood fuel), agroforestry and solid waste management.
"The objective in agroforestry is to develop a policy and regulatory framework to attract climate finance funds into the sector and establish five million acres of agroforestry woodlots in drylands.
"We also intend to map and organise waste collectors into cooperatives and provide circular economy waste separation sites/infrastructure," the CS said.
She said the 2023 to 2024 financial year departmental performance contracts were a cascade of the ministerial targets signed between herself and President William Ruto on Tuesday.
The targets contained in the performance contracts, CS Tuya said, were drawn from the ministry's recently launched 2023 to 2027 five-year strategic plan, Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda as well as deliverables agreed upon during a retreat in Nanyuki last year.
"It is on this basis that the Performance Contracts for FY 2023/2024 have met all the requirements as per the 20th Cycle Performance Contracting Guidelines and are therefore, finalized and ready for signing," she said.
The CS reminded officers in her ministry to strictly comply with established Government performance management guidelines.
"My office will be expecting to receive these reports promptly and at stipulated timelines... It is my hope that all the set targets will be achieved and you are encouraged to timely communicate to my office any challenges affecting the implementation," the CS said.
At the same time, she underscored the importance of performance contracting in public service, saying the Government uses it to enhance productivity and foster accountability.
"It is also part of the broader public sector reforms aimed at improving efficiency and effectiveness in the management of the public service to improve service delivery," she said.
In their address, Principal Secretaries Festus Ng'eno (Environment and Climate Change) and Gitonga Mugambi (Forestry) assured CS Tuya of their commitment to seeing to it that the performance contracts were successfully implemented.
"We are going to take necessary measures to ensure that the delivery is done," PS Mugambi said.
He advised the ministry staff to regularly document necessary performance evidence in prescribed formats for ease of reporting and evaluation.
Ng'eno said performance contracts were fully aligned with the ministry's 2023 to 2027 strategic plan and Kenya Vision 2030.
"I want to give you our assurance that the performance contracts are aligned to our 2023 to 2027 strategic plan that was launched just last week," PS Ng'eno noted.