The NPP Communication Team in Ahafo region has indicated it's displeasure relating to the neglect of Ahafo Youth by the Forestry Commission in it'
The NPP Communication Team in Ahafo region has indicated it’s displeasure relating to the neglect of Ahafo Youth by the Forestry Commission in it’s ongoing recruitment of Forest Guards.
According to the Ahafo Regional Communication Directorate, the continuous lack of consultation with stakeholders at the local level by CEOs in the recruitment of new staff is making the party unpopular and undoing the hard work being carried out within the Ahafo Region.
We have many forest reserves in Ahafo and we are conversant with our terrain. We live within the precincts of the forests and have knowledge about our forests passed unto us from older generations. Nobody knows our lands and forests better than us.
When it comes to protection of our coasts and initiatives for fisherfolks, we in Ahafo dare not venture to seek job opportunities because we are labelled as forest people who don’t understand coastal matters. However when it comes to our forest, everyone is benefitting from our forest apart from us. This is the view many citizens of Ahafo contacted hold.
The undercurrent upheavals amongst the Youth leaves much to be desired. The blame has been put on the CEO of Forestry Commission, Mr Allotey for failing to consult relevant stakeholders within the forest zones.
The Ahafo NPP Regional Communications Officer, Alfred Asiedu popular known as Nana Adu has without mincing his words issued a strong message to the CEO of Forestry Commission on behalf of the Youth in Ahafo. In the communication, he emphasised that according to his research, under the watch of the CEO, new Forest Guards recruits are being taken in Accra without any consideration for the youth and people in Ahafo particularly NPP faithfuls. This he claims is making their work difficult, in that, party faithfuls are threatening not to join the party’s campaign come 2024. What are we doing to the many youth who have been engaged under the youth in afforestation. These youth who nursed and are replanting the forest deserves permanent job opportunity. This worrying situation must be resolved to avoid any impact in the Ahafo Region, he insisted.
In a conversation with community members, it became evident that, locales are worried that most of the sawmills and timber merchants in Ahafo are non citizens of Ahafo who are depleting the forest without regard for the ramifications of their activities. We are losing at both ends according Nana Agyemang Duah, the chief of Nnseinnua, a conservatist. Our forests are being depleted by strangers who siphon away all the money without any significant investments in our local communities. We suffer from the environmental effects of these activities whether legal or illegal. It would have been expected that, local communities who have an interest in protecting their lands and forests would be offered such Forestry Guards jobs, but to the chagrin of many, we hear these jobs have been given to people in Accra, the chief emphasised.
A group of unemployed youth from Sankore who requested to be remain anonymous signalled that, no stranger should venture to come and work as a Forest Guard in their area. Their reason being that, they are not going to tolerate strangers who are going to deprive them of their daily bread. We have the qualified youth, they should tell us what the requirements for employment are. Seaman’s son can’t come to take forestman’s sons job according one assembly member in Asunafo North who wanted to also remain anonymous.
Source: Ahafonews
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