The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) has highlighted the importance of environmental conservation through tree planting initiatives.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a tree-growing exercise as part of the Kenya Devolution Conference 2025 (DevCon2025) in Homa Bay County on August 13, 2025, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong called for a collective action to protect afforestation and combat climate issues.
“We all know in the world now we are talking about climate and the climate you are talking about forestation… we all have to conserve the climate and see how best we all protect afforestation,” he said.
He encouraged everyone to participate in such exercises, noting that changes in weather patterns underscore the necessity of tree planting.
The President of Kenya, Dr. William Samoei Ruto, who officially opened the DevCon25 later in the day, participated in the tree-growing exercise. He was accompanied by several of the county governors and some senior government officials.
Organised by the Council of Governors, the DevCon2025 brought together over 11,000 delegates, including government officials, county governors, development partners, the private sector, civil society, and international stakeholders.
All the 47 county governors; members of the county assemblies; and the Senate, among others were present.
The four-day conference (August 12 – 15, 2025), themed: “For the People, For Prosperity: Devolution as a Catalyst for Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice,” aims to examine devolution’s role in realising equity, inclusion, and social justice in Kenya.
It also had the sub-theme: “Reengineering County Governments to Accelerate Development and Close the Socio-Economic Divide.”
Highlighting Jospong Group’s efforts through Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of the Group, Dr. Siaw Agyepong mentioned an afforestation project initiated with the late former President, Professor John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, focusing on planting and replanting trees.
“It’s a project that is always on our heart and it’s one of our main major projects,” he added.
He expressed gratitude to DeVCon2025 organisers, particularly President Dr. William Ruto, for enabling Jospong Group’s participation in the event, praising the President’s vision in championing African interests.
At the Jospong Group’s pavilion, Dr. Siaw Agyepong used the opportunity to explain the state-of-the-art operations of his waste management companies.
The Governor of Nyeri County, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Governors (CoG), Governor Mutahi Kahiga, participated in the tree-planting and praised Dr. Siaw Agyepong for personally planting a tree.
“This is symbolic and very significant because in this country we have a target of planting 300 million trees,” he said.
According to him, it was imperative that Africans protect and conserve their environment, adding that “we must understand and appreciate that we have no other continent apart from what we have been endowed.”
Governor Kahiga seized the opportunity to commend the Jospong Group for its contributions towards sustaining the environment and ensuring that “Africans protect what God has given to us.”
He was upbeat that talks between three counties would encourage all the remaining counties to engage with the Jospong Group to address sanitation matters in their counties.
Story By: Dennis Ato Keelson, Back From Homa Bay County, Kenya
