Government will remain committed to afforestation- Abongo

           

Narration: The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry, Albert Abongo has reaffirmed government’s commitment to the successful implementation of the National Forest Plantation Development Programme being implemented in all the 170 districts in the country, with an estimated working force of 28,000 nationwide. He said government would put in place the necessary mechanisms to ensure that the programme becomes sustainable and beneficial to its workers and the entire beneficiary communities. Mr. Abongo, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bongo gave the assurance when he led a team of delegation including officials of the forestry Service Division and Zoil, a subsidiary of Zoomlion Ghana to inspect ongoing afforestation projects  in  the Upper East Region. Here is a report by Isaac Asare.

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  Report

The Committee’s first visit was at Navrongo where they interacted with officials and staff of Tankara forest reserve. The visit forms part of the committee’s nationwide tour to the Northern Sector to assess the progress of work done and also interact with workers recruited under the programme. During the visit, workers at the Tankara plantation site made some reservations with respect to the difficulties they encounter in the course of their activities and mentioned delay in the payment of salaries, insufficient supply of logistics and resource constraints including lack of transportation as some of the challenges bedeviling their activities. According to them, issue of erratic rainfall pattern and indiscriminate setting of bush fires also poses a major challenge. Mr. Abongo in response to some of the concerns raised, commended the workers for their hardwork and dedication to work and urged them to put up their best and work satisfactorily as parliament takes steps to address their grievances. The MP for Asuogyaman who is also a member of the Committee, Rev. Dr Joses Akoto Asare appealed to officials of the forestry division and Zoil to assist in initiating motivational packages for the workers so that they would remain committed to their job. He also encouraged officials of Zoil to play their monitoring and supervisory roles effectively so that workers would not relent in their effort.  The Committee later took a trip to the Red Volta West forest reserve in the Bongo District where about 150 hectors of tick trees were under cultivation. After being briefed by the District Forestry Manager, Robert Derry, members of the committee expressed mixed feelings about the level of work done, which according to them was not to their satisfaction. This, the workers lamented were due to a number of factors including logistical constraints and delay in salaries among others. A Regional Coordinator of Zoil, Rukai Bukari said workers would be paid per work done and that all bottlenecks including outstanding payments for workers as at April, this year would be settled by the end of next month. She said her outfit is poised to the successful execution of the project in the region as it has so far covered almost 500 hectors out of projected target of 800 hectors and called for the support of the committee in ensuring that workers perform creditably in the next planting season. The Ranking Member of the Committee who is also the MP for Tano South, Mr Andrews Adjei Yeboah reiterated government’s determination in making tree planting an important component of efforts aimed at reviving the country’s degraded forest cover and subsequently to reduce the country’s wood deficit and also enhance the production of food crops and contribute to food security. He said the National Afforestation  Programme, which was launched last year, has so far established more than 20,000 hectares of tree plantations and has a target of covering  50,000 by the end of 2011. The initiative, he added, is therefore expected to help preserve the country’s forest cover and that government would continue to place high premium in its implementation. Mr. Adjei Yeboah, however entreated the general public to take interest in tree planting to help save the country’s forest from total extinction. The Committee members at the end of the tour paid homage to the Paramount chief of Bongo to announce their presence in the district.