Environmental advocacy group Eco-Conscious Citizens has accused Ghana’s government of hypocrisy in its climate and environmental commitments, citing a glaring contradiction between official policies and actions on the ground.
In a strongly worded statement titled “A Tale Of Contradictory Environmental Policies And Practice”, the group expressed frustration over what it called “lip service” paid to international climate agreements and environmental goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Our state institutions attend COP meetings and sign climate mitigation commitments,” the statement read, “but what happens on the ground is too often diametrically opposed to achieving the commitments we sign up to.”
Eco-Conscious Citizens pointed out that while the government embarks on tree-planting initiatives, it simultaneously permits the destruction of forest reserves, pollution of water bodies, and the illegal occupation of green spaces and wetlands.
The group was particularly outraged by the completion and opening of a petrol station in Wa, Upper West Region, on land belonging to the Department of Parks and Gardens.
“This is a clear case of dereliction of duty,” the group said, citing the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Lands Commission, Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, and the National Petroleum Authority as institutions that must explain their roles in this “serious breach of spatial use.”
Referencing a 2024 parliamentary assurance by the then Local Government Minister that encroached Parks and Gardens land would be reclaimed, Eco-Conscious Citizens said it was shocked to learn the Wa petrol station had not only continued construction but was now fully operational.
They demanded an immediate investigation by current Local Government Minister Hon. Ibrahim Ahmed into the EPA’s failure to uphold its environmental mandate. Additionally, they called for a nationwide audit of Parks and Gardens lands and the removal of all illegal structures.
“Lawlessness can only prevail if duty bearers fail to act in the face of impunity,” the statement concluded, urging the media and civil society to hold the government accountable.
