The Ashanti Region Seedling Contractors Association are demanding over GH¢2.3 billion owed to its members by the government.
According to the group, the amount is for the supply of seedlings for the tree planting exercise during the Green Ghana Day celebrations for 2021 and 2022.
The members say several engagements with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Forestry Commission to discuss payment of the debt have proven futile.
They say despite the many assurances from the government to pay them, they are currently frustrated as they are constantly being harassed by banks that they secured loans to procure the seedlings.
The Secretary of the Ashanti Region Seedlings Contractors Association, Gloria Amponsah, therefore appealed to President Akufo-Addo to intervene since they are under unbearable pressure from creditors.
“When we go there, they treat us like we are not humans, they don’t feel for us, As I stand here I have five children, I went in for a loan but when we go there they treat us like we are not part of Ghana. And so we call on Akufo-Addo, please come to our aid,” she pleaded in an interview on Citi News, monitored by The Ghana Report.
The Green Ghana Day was introduced in 2021 by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo as part of an aggressive national afforestation program to restore the lost forest cover of Ghana and contribute to the global effort to mitigate climate change.
The maiden edition was held on June 11, 2021, where an estimated 7 million tree seedlings were planted across the nation.
This year’s edition is scheduled for June 9, with a target of 10 million seedlings to be planted across the country.