Raila winds up trip - Off to UK

Prime Minister Raila Odinga Saturday wound up his tour of the US after a week of a series of meetings that culminated with his speech at the UN General Assembly.

In his meetings with various leaders Odinga sought to make environmental conservation in Kenya a global issue, show the world that Kenya was functional and the need to stop seeing the country through the glasses of 2008 chaos and to draw attention to the need to upgrade the UNEP headquarters and retain it in Nairobi.

Odinga backed by environment minister John Michuki presented a strong case for the world to support Kenya's efforts to save the Mau and its other water towers.

And their efforts bore fruits at a high level meeting on climate change where the President of the World Bank acknowledged that Kenya is today the best example of a country where conservation of the environment has been embraced at the highest level of government.

The two leaders gained the support of the world bank with the president pledging to support Kenya's efforts if it puts up a formal request.

Former US President Bill Clinton also committed to help increase Kenya's forest cover from 1.7 per cent to 10 per cent in a decade.

The PM also lobbied vigorously especially among Asian states for the elevation of UNEP and its retention in Nairobi.

Before meeting the Clintons, the PM, Michuki and Moses Wetangula met with a delegation from Bangladesh including the country's PM to lobby for the elevation of UNEP.

Odinga also met with US President barrack Obama where the two are said to have held discussions about reforms in Kenya.

The two are also said to have discussed the Mau issue, the controversy surrounding the re-appointment of Justice Aaron Ringera as head of the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission and the police reforms.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Odinga called for the strengthening and democratisation of the UN to include permanent, veto-bearing seats for Africa.

"The world can no longer continue to marginalize a continent which is home to nearly a billion people. This is wrong in principle but even more it is wrong in practice. We cannot find sustainable solutions to our challenges when such a large part of humanity is given so little voice and role in that quest for peace," he said.

Noting that climate change was currently the most pressing challenge, the PM called for the upgrading of UNEP in Nairobi so that it can become the central environmental institution and enable it to provide comprehensive support to all member states and organizations struggling to adjust to the new shift to a dynamic green economy.

Due to vagaries of the climate change 100 million people may fall below the poverty line this year said Odinga.

Giving Kenya as an example of challenges posed by climate change, Odinga cited the melting of the ice caps of Mt. Kenya Mt. Kilimanjaro, the destruction of forests forests, the drying up of rivers, the intensifying cycles of drought and then the floods, the spread of Malaria to highland regions as temperature rise.

To find solutions for these challenges, Odinga said the world must agree on concrete actions in the scheduled Copenhagen summit on climate.

He said Kenya was already playing its part in environmental conservation by restoring the Mau and other water catchment areas which will see over seven billion shillings planted.

Other measures include seeking alternative sources of power including solar, wind and geothermal.

Odinga also appealed for assistance in dealing with the famine that has affected over 10 million people in the country.

The prevailing conflict in neighboring Somalia Odinga said was posing a serious threat to the region's stability.

Odinga noted that Kenya's efforts to deal with the influx of refugees and illegal arms from the country were being thwarted by lack of resources and appealed to the international community to assist the country in dealing with the threat.

He said Kenya supported IGAD's and the African Union's recommendation to the UN Security Council to impose a no fly zone and a blockade of airport and seaports held by insurgents to prevent arm inflows.

Odinga will travel to the UK from New York and is expected back to the country next week.