The Berekum Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Kofi Adjei, has blamed sub-chiefs and farmers over the destruction of forest reserves and farms by cattle in the Bono region.
Speaking on Beyi W’ano, a segment on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem Wednesday, Mr Adjei said when it’s getting to the dry season, they indulge in that venture to allow the cattle from different countries to deplete the forest reserve.
“This issue has now become a business venture for some people who are using our reserve for those activities. When it’s getting to the dry season, they make these arrangements, we even speak to the paramount chief and he has tried tackling it but still exists.
“The most unfortunate thing is that now smaller chiefs and some farmers are behind this activity, selling the lands to these nomadic herdsmen for their cattle to destroy our forests and farms,” he said.
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According to him, if nothing is done about it the forest in the Bono Region will soon turn into a desert.
“The Sahara desert you see there historically was not a desert but as a result of human activities, that is what we see now and so if we don’t take care, our forests will now become like deserts and our future generations will curse us for the harm we have caused,” he added.
Moving forward, the Berekum MCE has appealed to the government to deploy soldiers at the country’s borders else the future will be very bleak.
There are seven forest reserves in the Bono region including Banda, Tain, Wenchi and Sunyani West.
However, about 10,000 cattle have ravaged five of these forest reserves in the Bono region.
This development has threatened the government’s Green Ghana project aimed at reducing the depletion of Ghana’s forest cover.