Kwadwo Afriyie (second from left) with members of the board, staff of Forestry Commission and beneficiaries of the Youth in Afforestation at Tomefa.
The Forestry Commission has assured personnel of the Youth in Afforestation programme of a sustained payment system that will ensure they receive their allowances on time.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission Kojo Owusu Afriyie said the commission had started paying two months of personnel allowances, adding that the commission was working with the ministry of finance to release funds to complete the last two months owed them.
“We have got two months for them which is October and November so we will sit with the board to release the money for December and January so that by this month ending they will get their payment for the last two months,” he said.
He was addressing beneficiaries during a working visit to parts of Accra with some members of the Forestry Commission Board to acquaint themselves with the achievement of the programme.
The tour took the team to Tomefa, Joma and Agbozome where some acres of land were being cultivated to protect portions of the Densu river basin in the Greater Accra Region.
They later visited the Pantang Hospital where the beneficiaries were planting trees to protect the land belonging to the hospital against encroachers. They also visited the Achimota Eco Park.
Tree species planted included Cedrela, Ofram, Blighia, Teak, Cassia, Emire, Gmelia, Ceiba, Mansonia, Eucalyptus and Mahogany.
Achievement
When commending the beneficiaries, Mr. Afriyie said since the middle of last year alone, the commission planted 24,000 hectares or over 60,000 acres of land involving about 25 million tree seedlings.
“I think they are doing a very good job. The sad part of the whole thing is those who sit in their offices and criticize without going to the field to see whether or not the boys are working,” he declared.
“But from what you have seen today, they
are working under very difficult circumstances. I mean fetching water in
buckets and watering these thousands of tress . . . how many people will have
time to do that? Yet they are all around to do it,” he added.
He further stated that the benefits of the programme would be for future
generations. “It is not today that we can count our success but come five to 10
years’ time, we will see that a good job has been done,” he pointed out.
Benito Owusu Bio, Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, who joined the team on the tour, commended the job being done by the Forestry Commission, saying “we are all witnesses to the current harsh climate conditions that we are experiencing”.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri