Obama a blessing and a curse for Kenya: PM

A: We have definitely managed to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the water towers. We pointed out that there is now much more support in Kenya for efforts to conserve the environment.

There have been attempts by some politicians to make it appear that the issue involves a vendetta against some segments of society when actually there is a genuine effort being made to conserve. The majority of the Kenyan people fully understand the need for environmental restoration.

Bill Clinton was very supportive when I spoke with him about the forest this week. He first offered to help with the replacement of 100,000 hectares in the Mau. Bill Clinton said we need to mobilise resources through his foundation and through the United Nations and World Bank.

I told him our ambition in Kenya is to increase forest cover from the current 1.7 per cent of the land to 10 per cent. I also raised these points with (UN Secretary General) Ban ki Moon.

Q: You spoke with Ban about the status of Unep in Nairobi as well, right?

A: I asked him to raise Unep to a higher level within the UN system and to consolidate other UN environmental programmes in other countries under Unep. I suggested that the funding for all these UN initiatives should come through Unep. There’s also the matter of Unep’s location. France and Germany have indicated in the past they would like Unep moved there from Nairobi.

Q: You will be attending a special UN meeting on Saturday about efforts to improve food security. What about the shortfall in donor funding for emergency food programmes in Kenya right now?

A: It’s a very serious situation. I met with donors in Nairobi last week and I have been discussing it here in New York as well. I said just this evening in my (General Assembly) speech that we need to raise $500 million for food assistance, with half of that coming locally and half from donors. The United States has offered $25 million, Japan has said it will give about $30 million and other countries have said they need to consult.

I met here in New York with Douglas Alexander, the British secretary for International Development and Cooperation, and he told me that Britain will be making a substantial contribution. World Bank President Robert Zoellick also told me when I talked with him this week that they will help us.

Q: You emphasised the crisis in Somalia in your speech this evening. Do you think the United States is being helpful to Kenya’s security through its actions regarding Somalia?

A: We need to share information. It’s a very sensitive issue. We have our own plans and we want to share them with the United States. We can complement one another. There needs to be a comprehensive approach to Somalia. All the players have to come together to strategise.