Absa Bank partners with Hoima City to plant 50,000 trees
HOIMA, November 3, 2023 – Hoima City Council with support from Absa Bank Uganda Limited is to plant 50,000 trees in a campaign aimed at restoring the city’ green environment.
Speaking during the launch of the campaign at Hoima City head offices days ago, Brian Kaboyo, the city mayor, said they plan to plant one million trees in the next three years.
He noted they have selected indigenous trees such as Musizi [Umbrella tree], Mahogany [Swietenia macrophylla], and Mvule [African teak] as well as fruit trees such as mangoes, jackfruit, guavas, and avocado, and medicinal trees to be planted along different roads, and in schools and health facilities.
He said he requested different partners to contribute tree seedling to the good cause and commended Absa Bank for contributing the first 50,000 trees.
He said the tree planting campaign will help restore the old trees that were cut down during the construction of the city roads under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Programme [USMID] financed by the World Bank.
The mayor said the cut trees were planted during the reign of Bunyoro-Kitara king, Omukama Sir Tito Winyi Gafabusa.
He said they will recruit tree ambassadors to sensitise the community on the importance of planting and protecting the trees in the city.
On her part, Helen Basuta Nangonze, the Absa Marketing and Customer Experience Director, said the Bank is committed to providing one million tree seedlings across the country, adding that they will have planted 300,000 trees by the end of the year.
She noted Absa Bank is to pay for the management of the young trees to ensure that they grow, adding that the growing population and oil activities are putting pressure on natural resources and the environment.
Isah Katwesige, the Assistant Commissioner for Forestry at the Ministry of Water and Environment commended the partnership between Absa Bank and Hoima City, saying the ministry is planning to plant 40mln trees in settlement areas such as urban areas.
He said that such tree planting campaigns challenge the community to understand the importance of conservation, adding the local communities are partly to blame for degrading the environment.
He underscored the importance of the communities in environmental conservation, saying law enforcement agencies cannot be everywhere to apprehend those who destroy the environment, such as cutting trees.
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