As a way of ensuring transparency and accountability, Mr Abu Kansangbata, a former Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, has appealed to the government to audit the National Afforestation Project.
A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday, April 17, 2025, said his demand reflected growing public concerns about environmental governance, transparency, and the responsible use of public funds in the fight against climate change.
Mr Kansangbata emphasised that while the afforestation initiative was launched with noble intentions, there was increasing evidence that it might have become a conduit for financial mismanagement rather than a driver of environmental restoration. "The National Afforestation Project, initiated under the leadership of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the then Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, was envisioned as a bold step toward reversing deforestation, combating climate change, and promoting sustainable livelihoods." Mr Kansangbata, however, questioned the project's actual impact and called for a serious reassessment of its implementation and outcomes. "I strongly urge the current government to embark on a serious audit into the afforestation project. "There is an urgent need to assess not just how many trees were planted, but also how many actually survived.
Without this accountability, we risk allowing cleverly disguised schemes to drain national resources at the expense of the ordinary Ghanaian." He said environmentalists and civil society actors had pointed to discrepancies in reported figures, limited monitoring, and poor survival rates of planted trees, which must be investigated to determine whether the project had delivered its intended environmental benefits or simply served as an avenue for corruption.
