Nairobi — Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has assured President William Ruto that the Ministry will; not fail the Head of State and the people of Kenya in the delivery of its broad mandate that include restoration of the country's degraded ecosystems by growing 15bn trees by the year 2032.
"We have an onerous task as a Ministry and with the leadership of Your Excellency the President, we have the responsibility to restore our degraded ecosystems by among other strategies, greening our nation through planting of 15billion trees," she stated.
"Your Excellency, I want to promise you infront of all these people here today, I won't let you down," CS Tuya assured President Ruto during her thanksgiving ceremony held on Sunday at her Leshuta home in Narok County and attended by the Head of State, First Lady Rachael Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua among other national and county leaders.
At the same time, CS Tuya thanked President Ruto for appointing her the first woman Cabinet Secretary from the Maa community, promising to use her elevated position in the community to create opportunities for girls and women from the community.
"My heartfelt gratitude goes to you Mr President for allowing God to work through you to believe in me and appoint me to serve in your Cabinet. By that one single decision, you have changed the course of history for the Maa community.
"You granted me the opportunity to become the first ever Maa woman to be appointed as Cabinet Secretary, 60 years since the independence of our republic. Thank you for believing that the Maa woman deserves a seat at the high table," CS Tuya thanked the President.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
She thanked Narok residents for electing her as their County MP for two consecutive terms during which she initiated several development projects across the vast county among them a primary school in her neighborhood named after her.
The CS thanked her family led by their parents Mr and Mrs Samson Ole Tuya for raising her up well especially for the opportunity to attain an education which she said had opened doors for her and her siblings. The CS's father, Hon Samson Ole Tuya is a two-term former Narok South MP.
In his address, President Ruto described CS Tuya as a brave, calm and collected leader, and congratulated the Cabinet Secretary on her appointment saying she earned it through her bravery, diligence and steadfastness.
"I have worked with Soipan Tuya and I can testify that she's a diligent, trustworthy and hardworking person. Because of her hardwork, faith and diligence, she's been blessed to become a Minister in the Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya," the President said.
"For Soipan Tuya to become a Cabinet Secretary, it is not because she's a woman. It is not because she's a Maasai woman or a pastoralist. She's where she is because she deserves it," the Head of State added.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Narok Governor Ole Ntutu and area MP Gabriel Tongoyo were among speakers at the ceremony attended by Ministry staff led by Principal Secretaries Eng Festus Ng'eno (Environment and Climate Change) and Gitonga Mugambi (Forestry).
