The Department of Parks and Gardens (DPG), the state organization responsible for developing the country’s horticulture resources, has called for adequate funds and investments to address the depletion of green spaces in Accra. The DPG said that with suitable investment, adequate funding, and increased personnel capacity, it had the technical competence and potential to not only restore but also improve declining green spaces in the city. Dr Daniel Kingsford Adams, the DPG’s National Director and Chief Horticultural Officer, described the depletion as a worrying happening, saying the agency had the technical expertise to restore and develop green spaces around the city. He stated that except for challenges such as inadequate funding and a low workforce, the DPG, which was already greening several public areas, could cover wider spaces. According to him, the department, which performs landscaping and upkeep for prestige locations like the Jubilee House, the Peduase Lodge, and other government facilities, as well as landscaping for public and private dwellings, lacked the resources to take on an extensive greening project. The Chief Horticultural Officer stated that the city’s loss of green spaces should be a major concern to everyone, emphasizing that ‘it affects the quality of the air we breathe in.’ ‘Parks and gardens not only beautify the city, but they also help to maintain the ecological balance between nature and human activities,’ he explained. Dr Adams revealed that the DPG was now greening the medians and roundabouts of some major Accra roadways to compensate for the loss of green spaces. He stated that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development was doing everything possible to adequately resource them. Dr Adams also disclosed that the Local Government Ministry was engaging the Ministry of Finance for approval to enable the DPG to recruit more workers to augment and replace its ageing workforce, of which nearly ninety per cent are due to retire within five years. ‘I must admit that the ministry has provided us with new vehicles in the last year, including two large trucks, a Landcruiser Prado, a tractor, two pickups, and working machines,’ he stated. The Department of Parks and Gardens and Tourism was established in 1961 by the passage of the Local Government Act, or Act 54, and it received Ministerial status in 1965. However, it was reverted to a department under the aegis of the Department of Forestry in 1966, after which it came under several ministries between 1970 and 2000, including Works and Housing, Local Government and Rural Development, and Environment and Science.
Source: Ghana News Agency
