Portions of the sold land[/caption] The land on which the head office of the Ghana Parks and Gardens is situated at Cantonments in Accra has been sold to a private real-estate developer, leaving the over 100 employees’ fate in the balance. The news team received a tip-off that portions of the land had been cleared to be used for a different purpose and a visit to the site revealed at least what appeared to be one-third of the entire land cleared. On site were blocks, stone chippings and sand confirming that the land has been given up for construction works. Trees on other portions of the land are being logged as well. Currently, the only land left is what houses the administration block. This is because the remaining land partitioned by two streams – what they referred to as the Northern stream and Southern stream – had been sold. A senior management member at the Parks and Gardens confirmed to 3news.com that the land has indeed been sold to a private developer, but was unable to explain the motivation behind that decision. Director of the facility, Nii Ishmael Adjei brown, responded to a phone call but asked the news team to seek clarification from the Chief Director of the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry. Until swift and pragmatic steps are taken, the beautiful and serene environment will soon be no more. About Parks and Gardens Established in the year 1961, the department of Parks and Gardens is responsible for the development of the nation’s landscape, and the preservation and beautification of the environment. It has branches in Aburi, Kumasi, Tema, Tamale, Cape Coast, Takoradi, Koforidua and Wa. Its core functions are to;
- promote landscape beautification of the natural environment and to collaborate with MMDAs to develop programmes for floral beautification of cities and towns.
- acquire lands to establish public parks and promote ecotourism to generate revenue for assemblies and jobs for the youth.
- pursue actions to combat the effects of global warming by promoting a national tree planting campaign involving all stakeholders.
- collaborate with the botany department of the University of Ghana and other stakeholders to document the country’s flora, to develop and maintain a national information facility for sharing digital biodiversity data,
- initiate programmes to identify threatened economic and ornamental plants for multiplication and conservation.
- concentrate on the conservation of threatened plants and restoration of plants diversity as well as communicating its importance under the global strategy for plants conservation programme