Eco-Conscious Fights Rezoning Of Cantonments Parks And Gardens

It is ironical that whilst Ghana continues to have green-focused events, such as the upcoming 3rd Green Ghana Building Summit 2020, steps are being taken to re-zone Parks and Gardens land in Cantonment, Accra, from Green Civic to exclusively Civic, so that an office block can be built on Parks and Gardens land.

This is 10 months after an earlier attempt on 6th September 2019 to re-zone the area was declined.

Environmentalists and other concerned stakeholders who were sidelined from further deliberations on the re-zoning application process, have been dealt a blow as it appears the go-ahead has been given to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to build the office block on Parks and Gardens land.

This is after about 150 trees and 5000 plants were destroyed in 2019 on Parks and Gardens land without permission from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make room for the construction of the office complex, which is now apparently earmarked for building on another part of Parks and Gardens land.

EPA officers have been spotted on Parks and Gardens land conducting a survey. One wonders why so much effort is being made to build on Parks and Gardens land when the office complex could be located elsewhere. The priority for the land should be planting, developing the Green Economy and raising awareness of the importance of trees, flowers and green spaces. This is urgent in the wake of Covid-19.

Eco-Conscious Citizens Co-ordinator Awula Serwah said: “A lot of our green spaces have already been built on. Covid-19 has reminded us of the importance of clean air, clean water, and open spaces. It is astonishing that anyone would think of re-zoning Parks and Gardens land from Green Civic to exclusively Civic in order to build a multi-storey office on Parks and Gardens land meant for greenery. Parts of Accra are prone to flooding. Plants, especially trees could make a difference in preventing flooding and generally improving the quality of life."

Awula Serwah

Eco-Conscious Citizens Co-ordinator