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The Tema Metropolitan Assembly, (TMA) has passed a bye-law that will compel developers to reserve 25 per cent of land for soft landscaping, which includes the planting of trees, plants and grass.
Under the new bye-law, all developers shall be responsible for the landscaping of the frontage of their properties.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive for Tema, Yohane Amarh Ashitey, who disclosed this last Wednesday during a tree planting exercise as part of the government’s Green Ghana Project, said the bye-law had already been approved at the general assembly meeting of the assembly awaiting gazetting.
He explained that the move by the assembly formed part of efforts to ensure that the greenery of Tema was established and properly maintained.
Mr Ashitey said as part of the assembly’s contribution to the Green Ghana initiative, the TMA intended to introduce some innovations to the initiative by assigning 200 seedlings each to assembly members to be planted and nurtured within their respective electoral areas.
He said each assembly member would be tasked to ensure the survival of the trees, adding that at the end of each quarter, an assessment would be done and scores provided on the percentage of trees planted and surviving.
Mr Ashitey disclosed that special rewards would be given to the electoral area that came out tops. The MCE further indicated that seedlings of various species were readily available for pickup at the Horticulture Department of the assembly and urged individuals and homeowners to visit and pick seedlings to plant in and outside their homes to help make Tema a green city.
“Our city being an industrial hub is particularly predisposed to air pollution and for that matter, the benefits of this aggressive afforestation programme is something we should participate in,” he said.
Meanwhile, two institutions in Tema, the Kingdom Exim Group and Tema Lube Oil Company Ltd, have donated two tricycles fitted with water tanks to the TMA for watering and monitoring of seedlings planted during the Green Ghana Project.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Corporate Affairs Manager of the Kingdom Exim Group, Peter Mensah, said the gesture was in alignment with the efforts being made by the government to mitigate the challenge of climate change and also to reclaim the lost forest of the country.
He said his organisation would continue to support efforts at promoting environmental sustainability practices to help build thriving communities and secure future generations.
