Environmental group, the Eco-Conscious Citizens on Thursday, Jan. 11, launched the the Eco-Conscious Citizens Friends Of The Environment Manifesto at Asanteson Gardens in La, Accra. The manifesto is aimed at getting all political parties and their prospective parliamentarians signed on to it, ahead of the 2024 general elections in December. Elements of the manifesto formed part of Eco-Conscious Citizens' Greening Ghana For Real petition to the government ahead of the 2023 Green Ghana Day initiative, the majority of which have been endorsed by the Minority in Parliament as confirmed by NDC MP and Ranking Member, Lands and Forestry Committee of Parliament, Dr Abdul Rashid-Pelpuo. Addressing a press conference, the Coordinator of Eco-Conscious Citizens, Awula Serwah said, the Friends of the Environment Manifesto is demanding the Repeal of E.I. 144 and withdrawal of L.I. 2462 within the first 6 months of the administration of the party that would win the 2024 elections. Executive Instrument (EI) 144, was approved by the government to declassify sections of the Achimota Forest as a forest reserve and L.I. 2462 was passed in November 2022 to give unfettered access to mining in any of the country’s forest reserves including Key Biodiversity Areas. According to Awula Serwah, the Friends of the Environment Manifesto would require that, any government that assumes power after the 2024 general elections withdraw and repeal the two Instruments within six months of staying in office. The party that forms government after the 2024 elections, she said, is also supposed to pause Community Mining and enshrine the rights of communities to reject mining in their localities within the first six months of administration. Another issue also contained in the Friends of the Environment Manifesto is the ban on single-use plastics and the promotion of environmentally friendly alternatives. She indicated that, it is not all plastics that are bad and the group is only calling for the ban on single-use plastics which evidence has proven to be causing damage to the environment. “Pass an Executive Instrument protecting wetlands and other ecological sites and prohibiting entry for purposes inconsistent with protecting ecological sites within the first six months of your administration. Prohibit installation of utilities to wetlands and other ecological sites for dwelling houses and purposes inconsistent with protecting the said sites within the first six months”, she said as contained in the Friends of the Environment Manifesto.
Coordinator of Eco-Conscious Citizens, Awula Serwah addressing the media
Another issue of concern in Ghana posing environmental risk is noise pollution which has become the norm in metropolitan areas to the point where residents in these locations experience noise nuisance and may be at risk of hearing loss. The Friends of the Environmental Manifesto also captured it and wants any government to be formed after the 2024 elections to provide lasting solutions. “Within the first six months, pass a Legislative Instrument providing that if three or more noise nuisance complaints are made against an establishment, facility, or individual in a residential or mixed residential area, the alleged noise maker will not be allowed to use sound amplification equipment until they can prove to the satisfaction of a court that the use of said equipment is no longer causing a nuisance”, Awula Serwah proposed as part of the Friends of the Environment Manifesto. She assured that, the Eco-Conscious Citizens group would work with all the political parties ahead of the December 7, 2024, general elections to get them to sign the Friends of the Environment Manifesto to make it binding.