Chiradzulu eyes 1.2 million trees by April

Chiradzulu Forest office will plant 1.2 million trees by the end of April this year with a view to restore trees in the district that have been destroyed for charcoal making and brick burning.

District forestry officer Yamikani Makwinja said on Monday that his office is planting the trees as a way of replacing those that have been destroyed.

“We have planted about 800 000 trees from January this year in several areas in the district and our plan is to finish planting the remaining 300 000 by April,” he said.

He further urged residents to find other alternatives of cooking other than the use of wood or charcoal only.

Chiradzulu Police community policing coordinator Kingsley Mvuthe said they will arrest anyone burning charcoal or cutting down trees.

Chiradzulu District Council acting director of planning and development (DPD) Chris Nawata urged organisations to join hands with the forestry office in the tree planting exercise.

Chiradzulu District is among the 15 districts that were hit by January 2015 floods and experienced a dry spell this year since most of its forest reserves are bare. n