Mole National Park receives field equipment from Australian High Commissioner

The Australian High Commissioner to Ghana His Excellency Gregory Andrews has on 9th April, 2021 handed over field equipment to the Mole National Park in the Savannah Region which is Ghana’s first, largest and most prestigious protected area.

The equipment included a high powered capacity drone, 20 GPS equipment, 30 camera traps, 2 desktop computers with rechargeable batteries, a photocopier machine, books and some personal protective equipment.

The Australian high commissioner also cut the sod for the construction of 2 Summer huts at the forecourt of the Mole National Park information centre which will be fully funded by him.

Speaking during the handing over ceremony of the equipment to the park, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana said the equipment will help the work of the park to go on smoothly and very effectively.

He said it will be easy to get videos and pictures of the animals and also help in trapping poaching activities in the park.

He added that the GPS equipment will also help the rangers find their way anytime they get lost in the reserve.

The High Commissioner commended the staff and workers of the park for their hard work and hopes to see much improvement in their work following the donation of the equipment.

The Manager of the Mole National Park, Mr Ali Mahama expressed his satisfaction with the kind gesture done by the Australian High Commission to them which he said is a sign of good relations between the Government of Ghana and that of the Australian Government and also very timely especially in dealing with the poaching activities in the park.

The Executive Director of the Wildlife division of the Forestry Commission Mr Bernard Asamoah Boateng in an address said Ghana has 7 national parks, 6 resource reserves 2 sanctuaries which are under the care of the wildlife division with the Mole national park being the premier and largest after it’s an establishment in 1958 and gazetted as a national park in 1971 with a size of 4,840km square. He said the park is in a process of being listed as a UNESCO Global World Heritage Site.

Mr Boateng also said the park has tried to protect its integrity through the application of donor agencies which have been successful and therefore used the opportunity to thank the high commissioner and the people of Australia for their support.

The Chief Executive Officer for the Forestry Commission Mr John Allotey who also addressed the gathering during the handing over ceremony said everything with wildlife in Ghana takes place in the Mole National Park since everything is referred to there when it has to do with Wildlife.

He said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of tourist in the park has gone down and wish to appeal to the donor agencies to help in branding the park to increase the number of people visiting the park.

He thanked the High Commissioner for his support and also used the opportunity to appeal to him to strengthen the relationship between Australia and Ghana through the development of a sister city relationship that is focused on ecotourism between the two.

He added that equipment received from the Australian high commissioner will go in a long way to help especially in data collection and also in getting more information especially with the nocturnal species in the park.

The Savannah Regional Minister Mr Saeed Muhazu Jibril thanked the Australian high commissioner for the support. He said the importance of the park can never be underrated since apart from the tourism aspect, it also serves as a source of employment in the region.

He also used the opportunity to appeal for more from the donor agencies especially in the areas of housing for the rangers and assured the park of the full support of the government in the development of the park.