Last week, Kenyans were left puzzled when the government announced that November 23, 2023 would be a national holiday to facilitate a nationwide tree planting exercise.

It has now emerged that the holiday was part of the government’s strategy to attract billions from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to a report that appeared in a local daily, as the tree planting exercise kicked off, President William Ruto was holed up in a meeting at State House with top officials from the IMF.

The meeting was strategically slated for the same day the tree planting exercise would be held for Kenya to show its commitment on mitigating the impact of climate change to the IMF.

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“The tree planting holiday was part of Kenya’s strategy to register its commitment to a multi-billion-shilling deal with the IMF about three months ago on climate change mitigation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” a report that appeared in a local newspaper said.

The tree planting exercise came about four months after the IMF announced that it had approved a financial request from Kenya for a loan facility of about Sh. 83.89 billion. The facility, Kenya had pitched to the IMF, was to fund its efforts at mitigating the impact of climate change.

In its pitch, Kenya committed to increase its forest cover to more than 10.6 million hectares from the current 7.2 million hectares to aid in emissions reduction.

“The government (of Kenya) has introduced a programme to increase tree cover to 10.6 million hectares, up from the current level of 7.2 million hectares. Based on an analysis of restoration potential, this new target is achievable and could position Kenya to not only meet its NDC (National Determined Contribution) commitments but also use landscape restoration to move closer to a net-zero target and potentially offer carbon credits on international markets,” the IMF said when it announced the loan facility deal with Kenya.