31 Oct 2023

Employee Africa, UNICAF, Minerals Development Company Botswana (MDCP) and others held a tree planting day and sponsored walk in Palapye on Saturday.

Speaking after the sponsored walk, Vice Chairperson of Roads With Trees Association of Serowe, Mr Moutlwatsi Ikaneng, called on Palapye residents to volunteer and to form associations to start planting trees.

Mr Ikaneng said people could not just wait for others to plant trees and that they have to do something themselves.

He said since 2012 his association has been planting trees along the roads in Serowe, schools, kgotla and in private businesses.

He said they have planted more than 200 trees and that most were growing well.

He noted that public places needed trees and that there was only one way to reduce the heat from the sun and that it was the shade from trees.

He thanked Employee Africa for the initiative and urged them to continue encouraging people to plant trees.

He said Palapye needed public trees just as other villages.

Chief Executive Officer of Employee Africa, Mr Mompoloki Makwana, said the annual tree planting sponsored walk was focused on driving mindset change, adding that it was everybody’s responsibility to plant trees.

He said they wanted to give back to the community and thought of trees as they would see them matured in 10 years when they pass Palapye.

He said their mission was to educate and empower African manpower through information that was research based.

Mr Makwana said they were passionate about an empowered, transformed and educated manpower.

“Tree planting and sponsored walks are some of the projects that we do to give back to the community,” he said.

He added that they were grateful that they came to Palapye to donate trees.

The Business Development and Marketing Manager at UNICAF, Ms Monica Dube- Sekhwela, said the annual tree planting and sponsored walk was a platform for them to raise awareness in Palapye on climate change and environmental conservation.

She said they expect to plant 500 trees and that it would be a great milestone.

She said the objective of the tree planting walk was to enhance education, foster awareness on individuals and organisations on climate change, mitigation, adaptation and reduction .

She added that they intend to plant more than 10 000 trees in three years, and that climate change was affecting millions globally.

Ms Dube-Makhwela said their core values guided them on how and where they operated and that they prioritised their role as a responsible organisation in terms of sustainability and their signing of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Accord.

The event was held under the theme: Every family must plant a tree, a walk for sustainability.  ENDS