Management and staff of the National Investment Bank (NIB) have marked the 2021 Green Ghana Day with a tree planting exercise at selected locations in the Accra-Tema-Kasoa enclave to complement government’s efforts at overseeing the planting of five million trees in Ghana in a day.

Unconventional environmental practices like illegal mining, unbridled felling of trees and bad farming practices have over the years led to the destruction of vast tracts of arable land and have immensely depleted the forest cover in most areas.

The “Green Ghana Campaign” was thus launched in March this year by government to in part, commemorate International Day of Forest, and also plant a total of five million trees on Friday, 11th June 2021, across Ghana.

It forms part of efforts by government to imbue the culture of tree-planting in Ghanaians, in a bid to protect, preserve and restore Ghana’s lost forest cover.

Managing Director of NIB, Mr Samuel Sarpong on his part, led a team of enthusiastic staff from the Abeka Branch of the bank to the Anunmle Basic School in Accra to plant a variety of tree seedlings.

Interacting with the pupils before the exercise, Mr. Sarpong noted that “trees benefit the society in immense ways, hence must be supported by all.”

He admonished them to care for the plants and pledged the bank’s support for the school. Adding, “as a national bank, we are duty-bound to ensure every positive initiative embarked on by the state is fully supported.”

Deputy Managing Director of the Bank, Mr. Tweneboa Kodua Fokuo who led another team to plant at the Dansoman Baptist Church expressed delight in the exercise saying “trees are critical to our survival as humans, so I am very happy about this project and look forward to seeing them grow gallantly.”

He implored the authorities of the church who partnered the bank to ensure the trees are nurtured and closely monitored to grow in order to restore what has been lost.