The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini, has urged the government never to use the Green Ghana Project as a channel to siphon funds.
Speaking in Parliament on the government’s initiative to plant 10 million seedlings this year, he said there had been instances in which the government overspent from the estimated budget brought before Parliament.
He said, “The President in the 2022 State Of the Nation Address(SONA) revealed in Parliament that 7 million trees were planted in the year, 2 million more than it was initially planned.”
“However, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, after the tree planting exercise, disclosed to Parliament that only 4.89 trees were planted. How many trees were indeed planted?” he queried.
In view of that, the Tamale MP cautioned the government not to drain the public purse, with the explanation of planting trees to save the environment or protect forest reserves.
Ghanaians observed Green Ghana Day on Friday, June 9, a significant event to restore the nation’s forest cover and combat deforestation.
This annual initiative, spearheaded by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in collaboration with the Forestry Commission, emphasizes the importance of tree planting and environmental conservation.
The objective is to increase the country’s forest cover and mitigate the effects of climate change, promote biodiversity, and ensure a healthier environment for present and future generations.
The Forestry Commission has since made a variety of seedlings available, including timber species, shea trees, ornamental trees, fruit trees, and multi-purpose trees for the exercise.
As an environmentalist, I’m not so enthused with this exercise, the government keeps.playing lip service on the fight against Galamsey. The quantum of trees getting bulldozed by the day in our forest is nothing compared to what this initiative is hoping to address. Why use your authority to protect that which exist? If only we measured the carbon footprint and travels expenses on this tree planting exercise. We tickling ourselves and laughing. It’s sad.