Asantehene reiterates commitment to go for 'galamsey' chiefs

Correspondence from Ashanti Region

The Asante overlord, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has reiterated his true commitment to getting chiefs involved in galamsey and forest destruction menace severely punished, especially those in the Amansie area.

The king was speaking as a special guest during the launch of the Green Ghana Project campaign at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology (KNUST) on Wednesday. This year's program, which is scheduled for June 9, 2023, is themed "Our Forest, Our Health".

Touching on the theme, he urged that the protection of forests and water bodies should be a collective responsibility.

Otumfuo further disclosed that we could only achieve a great impact if we worked collaboratively towards this goal.

According to him, it places a responsibility on all of us to prevent selfish people who put their personal interests above the national interest and end up destroying our forest reserves and natural resources.

"It is very sad that despite the several measures government has been putting in place to curb this menace, illegal logging and illegal mining continue to pose a threat to our forest. This means that government cannot do it alone. We must all get involved and support government and come together to solve these matters.

"My chiefs have noted that I have been strictly speaking about this, and I'm not happy about chiefs in the Amansie area where galamsey has taken over the land, and I say to them that if you sit there and you claim that you don't know what is happening, then you're not fit to be a chief over there," he warned.

In a video footage available to GhanaWeb, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said he was soon going to start with his recalcitrant chiefs who are involved in these illegalities and, however, urged the government to deal with the other ones. He entreated everyone to take matters seriously to make sure we bring all these things to a close.

According to him, the protection, preservation and sustainable exploitation of our natural resources, including our forest resources, should be a collective responsibility.

Applauding the government for the tree planting initiative, Otumfuo urged everyone, including Nananom, students and the youth, to take an active part in this exercise and contribute to the restoration of our lost forest cover.

He also commended the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for actively engaging our youth in this national exercise through the one-student one-tree initiative. "Each one should make a conscious effort to plant trees".

Meanwhile, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, in his speech, disclosed that the number of trees targeted to be planted this year across the country is 10 million.