The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for New Juaben South Constituency in the Eastern Region, Mr Michael Okyere Kofi Baafi, has called on residents in the constituency not to politicise the ongoing tree planting exercise.

That, he said, would enable the government to achieve the purpose for which the exercise was meant.

He therefore asked them to put political affiliation aside and join hands to ensure the success of the exercise.

Mr Baafi made the call when he joined residents of the area, personnel from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), personnel from the Forestry Commission, the police, schoolchildren, traders, chiefs and religious bodies at the ongoing tree planting exercise organised by the Forestry Commission and the New Juaben South Municipal Assembly as well as the MP for the area at Nkubemu, a suburb of Koforidua on Friday (June 11).

Tree species

In all 1,000 out of 30,000 varieties of tree seedlings were planted within the municipality.

Some of the tree species are coconut, mango, oil palm, mahogany, Odoom, willow, avocado (pear), orange polinatia, montallis, cyber and shade among others.

Political affiliation

He said politicising the Green Ghana project would not make the programme a success; as such the people should put aside political affiliations and plant trees to replenish those that had been cut in the area and also protect water bodies.

"It is not only members or supporters of the NPP or NDC who will benefit from the tree planting exercise but all of us, as such we should do away with politics and embrace the exercise fully to ensure its success.

"This will help preserve the ecology of the area for the present and future generations," the MP stated.

Nurture seedlings

Mr Baafi told the people not only to plant the tree seedlings but to continue to water them to grow, adding that it was the responsibility of everyone in the area to do so.

The MP indicated that his office would collaborate with the Forestry Commission to engage people on the project to nurture the seedlings to get the needed results.

He appealed to all assembly members in the municipality to lead the tree planting exercise in their respective electoral areas to enable the people to show more interest in it.

The Deputy Eastern Regional Director of the Forestry Commission, Mr Poku Bosompem, for his part advised the people to plant a seedling on any spot that they cut a tree, explaining that it would go a long way in the fight against climate change.

He also emphasised that the trees when fully grown would serve as windbreaks.