{"id":297937,"date":"2017-03-01T09:00:30","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T09:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=297937"},"modified":"2017-03-01T09:00:30","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T09:00:30","slug":"okyehene-commits-to-fighting-galamsey-in-atiwa-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/03\/okyehene-commits-to-fighting-galamsey-in-atiwa-forest\/","title":{"rendered":"Okyehene commits to fighting galamsey in Atiwa forest"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori-Panyin II, has reiterated his commitment to protect the Atiwa\u00a0\u00a0forest<\/strong><\/span><\/a> from the activities of illegal miners and chainsaw operators.<\/p>\n He said this \u00a0when the President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Bice Osei Kuffour, popularly known as Obour, and some musicians paid a courtesy call on him at his palace on Monday.<\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”2dsExtyfiJu1GFJBlQhOvRGBSBDy7p5l”]The musicians, including Richie Mensah, Nero X, Sheriffa Gunu, Kojo Rana and Helen Van Der Hombergh from Greenbeats in Netherlands, are ambassadors of a local NGO, “A-Rocha Ghana” who are championing the campaign for the protection of the Atiwa\u00a0Forest Reserve.<\/p>\n The Okyehene said he has always supported the idea to turn the Atiwa\u00a0Forest into a National Park.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n He said, “the forest was given to us by our fore fathers many years ago. I love nature and I love green environment. Eight years ago, I led a delegation to see the appropriate authorities for the Atiwa\u00a0Forest Reserve to be turned into a National Park just like we have Bole National Park in the north and Kakum National Park in the Central Region, but upon series of meetings nothing has been done about it.”<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n He said he was excited by the initiviate taken up by the musicians to launch the mass campaign to save the Atiwa Forest Reserve from encroachment.<\/p>\n “I am very happy that you guys have taken it upon yourselves to also add your voice for Atiwa Forest\u00a0to be turned into a National Park. There are a lot of benefits that we as a country will derive from preserving the Atiwa\u00a0Forest because when I proposed that the forest be turned into a National Park, I had scientists and researchers who came around and from their research and findings they came out with astonishing facts and figures showing different species of medicinal plants and animals like butterflies, frogs, birds, monkeys and several others who inhabits the forest.”<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Okyehene Amoatia Ofori- Panyin II further pledged his support to the cause saying “I applaud your efforts and I promise to use whatever I have to ensure that you guys succeed in the quest to preserve the natural forest because I believe most of the health problems we face today can be solved by preserving our green environment and using the medicinal plants appropriately.”<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n “We do not have generational thinkers now, all our leaders think of is making monies now, and not looking ahead into the future for the next generation. Our fore father’s were generational thinkers, that is why we still have the Atiwa\u00a0Forest because they enacted laws which were not policed by anyone. They insisted that out of the 7 days we have in a week, 2 days be set aside for the forest to rest and replenish so no one entered the forest during the two-day period. ”<\/p>\n