Former President Rawlings gave the advice in Accra on Thursday when he laid a foundation stone as part of activities to mark the upcoming Lions Clubs International (LCI) centennial celebration.

He said some leaders of the country were not protecting the environment and were destroying the natural resources with impunity. He stressed: “It is bad enough; we at the top are not protecting the environment but indulging in impunity”.

Former President Rawlings bemoaned the bad attitude of indiscriminate felling of tress and challenged the media to campaign against such practices as they had started with the ‘Galamsey’ campaign.“The media, help to wake us up, otherwise this legacy will be meaningless.

“Changing people, calls for educating them on the protection of the environment and not treating it any how that will affect them later,” he said. The former President congratulated LCI for the many charitable works they had been serving the country with.

    He lauded them for their choice of road for the legacy project which included a playground and monument to be constructed to enhance the independence avenue vicinity.

   Mrs Gloria Esi Lassey, Chairperson of the Organising Committee of the Multiple District 403 Convention, LCI, said the construction which formed part of LCI centennial celebration would be a legacy for generations to come.

   She said the project was among the number of projects expected to be inaugurated by LCI to mark the celebration, with a gala night slated to crown the celebration.

    Mrs Lassey, who is also the Past District Governor of LCI, noted that the construction of the project had been approved by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly as well as the Town and Country Planning.

    Mr Augustus Richardson, an Architect with Asher Glaiden Company Limited, said the estimated two months project would be a great opportunity for LCI to give back to society.

    He noted that no trees would be cut during and after the construction work of the project.

    Ghana has been selected to host the Convention for the Multiple District, with about 1000 delegates from May 3rd to 7th, 2017 on the general theme: “The more we are, the better we serve”.

    The centennial celebration would have leadership of LCI delegates from the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia.

    However, the global celebration will take place in June, 2017 in Chicago, USA where it all began 100 years ago.

   The LCI is the largest global service organisation with the aim of empowering volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through the Lions clubs.

 In 1968, the LCI Foundation was established to assist Lions with global and large scale local humanitarian projects.