Hon. Ama Pomaa Boateng, the Deputy Minister of Communications and Digitalisation on Friday led staff and officers as well as other heads of departments of state agencies under the Ministry to plant seedlings in commemoration of the second edition of the Green Ghana day.
Speaking to the media on behalf of the Sector Minister, Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Deputy Minister acknowledged the relevance of the occasion.
She reiterated that efforts to recover the country’s lost forest cover was laudable.
Hon Pomaa noted that tree planting enhances the quality of air humans breathe, adding that Green Ghana Day was a good initiative to be part of.
CHARGE:
She, therefore, urged the public to embrace the idea by government and be involved in any drive aimed at encouraging people to plant trees.
“The Ministry is happy to be part of the Green Ghana Day. As part of our mandate, everything electronics is with us and we all know that from our cars, to our homes to what we study or work with, we use all these electronic gadgets”, Hon Pomaa asserted.
She stated that resources used for these electronic gadgets are raw materials derived from our forest.
The Deputy Minister therefore said the cutting down of trees or replacing them is one of the areas that the Ministry was very interested in.
MEASURES:
As a measure, the Deputy called for a collaborative effort by all persons in the country to find ways to replace trees they cut.
“For instance, gold, silver, plastics, etc are all components that make up the gadgets that we use. And once trees are cut, that means that we are getting our resources in manufacturing these gadgets, so we need to replace them” Hon Pomaa posited.
FOCUS BY MINISTRY:
The Deputy Minister said the Ministry was committed to reducing electronic waste (e-waste).
He said vigorous ways should be sought to recycle or replace e-waste, adding that the planting of more trees could one method.
“In replacing them, our focus is on the electronic wastes, whether to recycle or to do the tree planting, but we are doing both. We will continue to create the awareness for all of us to know that once we live the digital life, whether we learn, work or play, we need to replace these raw materials that are being used for these electronic gadgets.”
STORY BY MICHAEL OFOSU-AFRIYIE, KUMASI.