938, 000 tree seedlings planted under KKCG project

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has so far,planted a total of 938, 000 exotic and indigenous tree seedlings of differentspecies under its flagship programme ‘Keep Kumasi Clean and Green (KKCG)’.

          Twothousand of those seedlings, comprising only of coconut species, were plantedalong water bodies and some ceremonial streets within the metropolis to enhancethe flora and fauna of the city.

Mr. Osei Assibey-Antwi,the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), who made this known at the firstordinary meeting of the fourth session of the Seventh Assembly, indicated thatthe Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) of the Council for Scientificand Industrial Research, provided the majority of the seedlings.

The project is part ofefforts to boost the vegetation cover of the metropolis, once touted as the‘Garden City of West Africa’ by Queen Elizabeth II, upom her visit to Kumasi inthe early 1960s.

          Mr. Assibey-Antwinoted that the tree species planted under the project included ‘mahogany’,‘ofram’, royal palm’, ‘emire’ and ‘kusia’, as well as coconut.

The project in the longterm is geared towards addressing the changing climatic conditions, with thetrees serving as a cover to absorb the excessive carbon in the atmosphere borneout of industrial activities.

 Mr. Assibey-Antwi said the Assembly had in thelast two years been implementing the KKCG project to enhance the ecology, andhad so far received an overwhelming support from traditional authorities, civilsociety organizations, individuals and corporate organizations.

The MCE said theAssembly was determined to bring back the abundant flora and fauna whichdecorated the city in the past, giving it a beautiful scenery that served as anattraction to many tourists and visitors.

The MCE lauded theKumasi Rotary Club, led by Nana Poku Agyemang, for their decision to adopt theKMA wetlands, and invited other humanitarian-based institutions to also come onboard in helping the Assembly to realize its vision.

On sanitation, theEnvironmental Health Department, he said, had been working with stakeholders tocreate awareness on the need for the people to always keep their surroundingsclean.

“The main challenge weare facing in relation to environmental sanitation bothers on attitude,” Mr.Assibey-Antwi stated, adding that it behooves the people to be law-abiding inorder to improve their health.

“I am happy to reportto the Assembly that Kumasi recorded no incidence of Cholera outbreak in 2018due to the good collaborative work of the Department, National DisasterManagement Organization (NADMO) and other stakeholders,” he told the Assembly.