KCC identifies trees to be felled

The Kigali City Council (KCC) and the National Forestry Authority (NAFA) have identified old trees to be cut down as a way of protecting the public. The move comes days after a falling tree caused a fatal accident near the parliamentary building in Kimihurura.The huge eucalyptus tree fell on a minibus at Gishushu killing three people and injuring 10 others. The tree fell during a heavy down power that was characterised by strong winds. Currently, 240 old trees have been identified and the exercise to bring them down is set to start next Friday, KCC Communications Director, Bruno Rangira said. “Heavy rains and strong winds are anticipated in the coming days, which is why we’re planning to cut down all trees that constitute a threat to road users,” he added.Innocent Kalisa, a NAFA official in charge of forests in Kicukiro District, Kigali City, said that a plan to cut down the identified trees had already been finalised. “We have trees to replace the ones we are planning to eliminate,” he said. He added that every cell in the district has a nursery bed containing 12,000 trees which will be planted soon. Ends