Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Masika Wetangula has made a damning revelation of how merchants and foreign firms are gaining millions by forging their locations in Africa.
While giving a keynote address during the 27th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth on Thursday, January 4, Wetangula accused the said individual of faking African locations to sell carbon credits.
Carbon credits, also known as carbon offsets, are permits that allow the owner to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.
While attributing to various court documents, Wetangula accused the merchants of claiming to be part of different places in Africa and earning significant amounts of money from other companies involved in carbon trading.
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"There is now a big group of merchants all over the world trading in carbon credits. I know where people are earning sums of money out there in Europe, America and other countries using Geo-maps from our continent. People for example will take Congo and pretend to be part of their territory and sell carbon credits," Wetangula stated.
The former Bungoma Senator indicated that some of the accused individuals have managed to evade justice due to the lack of legal frameworks guiding carbon trading.
Wetangula however challenged leaders from various countries to formulate and implement laws that would govern carbon trading.
"So we need to pass laws in our parliaments, particularly in countries that are water and forest secure to protect your heritage," Wetangula maintained.
In Kenya, President William Ruto has already initiated plans to fully monetise the sector. The Head of State invited Saudi Arabia to pump billions of dollars into the Kenyan economy in the next three years by purchasing government securities.
The move is expected to improve the economy and benefit different communities.
