Hon. Alhaji Yussif Sulemana (Ori), Member of Parliament (MP) for Bole-Bamboi Constituency and Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources noted that the John Mahama administration has learned a lot from past happenings with regards to tree planting and management. He said the current administration will ensure a high percentage success rate and will plant more economic trees such as shea, dawadawa trees, among others.
He explained that the new programme will succeed because lessons were learned from the previous administration’s Green Ghana initiative.
“You just don’t plant one day ceremoniously and say, you have planted these numbers of trees and it ends there. We have learned from past mistakes and will make sure the initiative succeeds.”
Yussif Ori added that the Tree for Life programme will run throughout June 2025 with tree planting activities rolled out in phases across the country to help meet national targets of 7milliin trees..
The Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources emphasized that embracing innovative strategies is key to the success of the programme and announced plans to start a “Tree for Life Club” in Bole, which will allow registered students to be assigned seedlings so that they can nurture them to maturity.
Hon Yussif Ori said this when he engaged students and staff of Bole Senior High School (BOSEC) in support of the government’s new ‘Tree for Life’ initiative. A total of 100 trees were planted on BOSEC campus alone with a task to school to manage them.
The program was held at the assembly hall of BOSEC on 5th June, 2025 in Bole, Savannah region.
The nationwide afforestation programme, launched by President H.E. John Dramani Mahama on March 21, 2025, aims to distribute seven million seedlings (7,000,000) including both ornamental and food crops for planting by government agencies, private organizations, and the general public.
Hon Yussif Yussif Ori Ori further added that the initiative will create a link between the people, especially students, and the trees they plant, saying, “We want to attach students to their trees and we want them to nurture these trees.”
Mr. Frank Adumako-Kwabia of Forestry Commission, underscored the spiritual and practical significance of plants in sustaining human life, saying “God, in His wisdom, created plants to benefit both animals and man. We depend on trees and animals for food and for solving our daily problems.”
He expressed regrets about the growing degradation of Ghana’s natural environment due to activities such as indiscriminate tree felling, illegal commercial charcoal production, galamsey, and bush burning during.
These actions have destroyed forest reserves and sacred lands. There is a need to replenish whatever has been destroyed, willingly or unwillingly, he stated.
Abdulai Zulkaninu
