Ghanaian-born barrister Awula Serwah, who is a Brent Community Champion and founder of the local Taking A Stand Against Littering and Fly-tipping initiative, recently presented a petition signed by over 3,500 supporters from Ghana and beyond to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo through Ghana's Deputy High Commissioner in London H.E. Rita Tani Iddi.
Serwah, who lives in Neasden, leads the Eco-Conscious Citizens (ECC) group, which has been campaigning against a Ghanaian government ministry felling trees on Parks And Gardens lands in the Ghanaian capital Accra, to make way for building a multi-storey office complex.
With climate change in the news and activists, including Extinction Rebellion, demanding that world leaders take environmental issues seriously, ECC are hoping that President Akufo-Addo will respond positively to the petition.
ECC are asking the President to use his good offices to ensure that Parks And Gardens lands are kept exclusively for the green economy - that is sustainable environmental, horticultural or botanical use, and that:
1. There are no further attempts to re-zone any portion of Parks And Gardens land to exclusively Civic, so that a multi-purpose office complex can be built on the land.
2. The Department of Parks And Gardens is resourced to deliver the remit for which it was set up.
1. There are no further attempts to re-zone any portion of Parks And Gardens land to exclusively Civic, so that a multi-purpose office complex can be built on the land.
2. The Department of Parks And Gardens is resourced to deliver the remit for which it was set up.
“The multi-purpose office complex should be located elsewhere,” says ECC co-ordinator Awula Serwah. “It is vital that we preserve our parks and open spaces, and that Parks And Gardens land is kept for environmental purposes.”