The Forestry Commission (FC) is embarking on a number of initiatives to cut down cost and increase its revenue mobilization, Mr Andy Osei Okrah, Director of Human Resource of the Commission, has said.
As part of this the 360-hectare Achimota Forest would be developed into a modern eco-tourism centre.
The Mole and Ankasa National Reserves are also going to be upgraded to attract more tourists while the National Forest Plantation Project would be extended to all the districts in the country.
Mr Okrah was addressing the annual general meeting of the FC House Union Executive of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) at the Wood Industries Training Centre at Akyawkrom, near Ejisu on Thursday.
The two-day meeting is under the theme; “Protecting the forest and wildlife resources for a better Ghana - the role of the House Union.”
Mr Okrah said the Commission was establishing an Enforcement Unit to ensure that all management plans and decisions were strictly implemented.
He pointed out that the Union had a critical role to play in making sure that the reviewed strategic plan of the Commission was achieved. Mr Okrah said a performance management system was being put in place and that sectional performance reward for hard working staff would be rolled out this year.
He called on the workers to maintain high standards of professionalism in their service delivery to the public.
Mr Joshua Ansah, General Secretary of the Timber Wood Workers Union (TWWU) of TUC, called for a change of attitude on the part of both the management and employees for the realization of the Commission’s set goals.
He appealed to the workers to take advantage of the modular programme developed jointly by the FC and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to upgrade their competencies.
Mr Justice Asare, Chairman of the House Union, urged the Management to act firmly to safeguard the Commission’s resources.
He spoke of the workers’ preparedness to protect the forest but said they were faced with the challenge of inadequate logistics and appealed to the Management to address the problem to enable them to work effectively.