The Ashanti Regional Security Council has established a task force to control stray cattle on the streets of Kumasi.
During a press briefing in Kumasi on May 8, 2024, the Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, announced that the initiative aims to reclaim the entire city from cattle intrusion.
Mr. Osei-Mensah underscored the negative impact of roaming cattle on the region’s greening efforts after inspecting some of the newly planted trees in the region as part of the Green Ghana Day initiative.
He acknowledged the difficulty in restraining cattle which he said was the reason an external task force was being constituted to assist.
He added that members of the task force will be compensated for their services and entrusted with safeguarding the planted trees from cattle interference.
Mr Osei-Mensah revealed that the allocated budget would cover the task force’s expenses for an initial period of one year and be renewed depending on resource availability.
“You know, it is not easy to catch a cow. It is extremely difficult, so we are going to get some of those people who are good at it to do the work for us. We are going to engage them, we will pay them, and it will be their responsibility to ensure that the trees that we planted will not be consumed by or destroyed by the cattle.
“We will pay them during the period that is for a whole year, and if it is possible to have adequate resources to sustain it, then we sustain them the following year too” he noted.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, as part of this year’s Green Ghana Day project, has called on the citizenry to commit to planting and grow at least 10 million trees for a greener tomorrow for the survival of generations unborn on June 7, 2024.
“Green Ghana Day is an extraordinary opportunity for us all to contribute to make our country greener and habitable, and forever shall it be. Saving lives and our planet is a collective responsibility,” he stressed during the launching of the 2024 Green Ghana Day event, held at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, Northern Region on 16th April, 2024.