OPINION: Mengi: The man who planted 27m trees
He was listed by Forbe’s magazine among Africa’s 50 richest people, with an estimated net worth of $560 million (around Sh1.3 trillion) and widely hailed as an industrialist, philanthropist and media mogul.
But perhaps one of Reginald Abraham Mengi’s biggest achievements in life was his extraordinary tree-planting campaign in his birthplace, Kilimanjaro Region.
As we pay final respects to Dr Mengi at his burial in his native village of Machame in Kilimanjaro Region, one of the best ways of honouring this modern-day legend of Tanzania is by fulfilling a dream he personally shared with me in June 2018.
Dr Mengi voiced his dream to me in his Haidery Plaza office in Dar es Salaam’s central business district.
“You know what Lucas. I have a dream. My dream is to grow 100 million trees in Kilimanjaro Region,” Dr Mengi told me ahead of World Environment Day, the UN’s most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of the environment, marked around the world on June 5.
Mengi added: “If I have been able to grow 27 million trees, I can fulfill my dream of growing 100 million trees in Kilimanjaro Region.”
His love for greening the environment is best evidenced at his classy residence at Kinondoni Hananasif in Dar es Salaam, and at the premises of Bonite Bottlers Limited (BBL) at Shirimatunda in Moshi on the outskirts of Moshi Municipality. Both locations are evergreen.
Between 1988 and 2017, Dr Mengi planted more than 27 million trees in Kilimanjaro Region in a tree planting campaign overseen by BBL, a bottling plant for Coca-Cola and its allied products, including Kilimanjaro Water. BBL is a subsidiary of IPP Group of Companies.
Twenty years ago some parts of the region, home to Africa’s highest mountain, were like semi-arid.
There was a lot of dust caused by strong winds. But today over 20 years down the road, most parts of the region are booming with trees making the areas a haven for mankind as well as all kinds of creatures under the sun.
The tree planting campaign has completely changed the environment of Kilimanjaro Region, and most parts of the region are now cool and the air is fresh. Since various reports and eye witness accounts indicate that the glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro are melting due to what is considered to be the effects of climate change, surely, the tree planting campaign will benefit the mountain through provision and restoration of favourable climatic conditions around the mountain. “We are proud of this man for his outstanding contribution towards greening the region, which was 20 years ago adversely affected by environmental degradation,” says Anna Mghwira, Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner.
In April 2014, former President Jakaya Kikwete, decorated Dr Mengi with the Presidential Certificate of Recognition for his outstanding dedication to the preservation of the environment by planting more than 24 million trees between 1988 and 2014 in Kilimanjaro Region, and by undertaking other philanthropic missions in Tanzania.
By 2017 the number of planted trees increased to over 27 million. Indeed, 27 million trees could make an impressive forest in the country.
Dr Mengi is also the recipient of “The Environmental Conservation Award Grade One” given by President Kikwete on December 9, 2012 for his tireless efforts and contribution in environmental protection and conservation.
In paying tribute to Dr Mengi, the minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office [Environment and Union], January Makamba, said last week: “We have lost a dedicated environmentalist. Mengi was the first chairman of the National Environment Management Council.”
Indeed Mengi is gone. His life was cut short by the cruel hand of death before he could fulfill his dream of planting 100 million trees. Let us all honour him by planting urban and rural forests across Tanzania. Rest In Peace Dr Reginald Abraham Mengi.
