The Minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has promised to plant a number of 100 million trees annually.

According to him, the move forms his approach and strategy to increase the country’s forest cover affected by a number of illegal activities in the country over the past years.

The nominee stressed the need for the country to roll out an aggressive afforestation scheme to recover the country’s depleted forest reserve.

Mr Abu Jinapor said if given the nod by the Appointments Committee of Parliament, he will use the World Environment Day (WED) being celebrated on June 5, every year to commence the initiative in line with the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment.

“I am looking forward to having the opportunity and if I get the opportunity, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources should be able to come out with a program, where once in a year and preferably on June 5th which is World Environment Day, the President of our republic [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo] will lead a tree planting exercise, the president will plant a tree.

"Hopefully, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, will plant a tree, hopefully, His Majesty Ya Na Abukari II, the Overlord of Dagbon will plant a tree and Mr Chairman himself will also plant a tree in Parliament and about say 5 million of Ghanaians will plant a tree” Samuel Abu Jinapor outlined his ambitions during the vetting.

Mr Abu Jinapor, however, stated that the approval of the idea is subject to Cabinet and subsequently parliamentary approval.

When asked by Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu about how many trees he intends to plant in a day, Abu Jinapor said “I think we should be able to plant 100 million a year, but let me put a caveat which is that, these are my ideas, this is my reflection they are subject to cabinet approval and in some cases, they will be subject to parliamentary approval, so I may think it is a brilliant idea I may go to the cabinet and it may be shot down so the back will not stop with me but I think it’s a noble idea, I think it will help”.

He added that the aggressive afforestation scheme under his watch will see the plantation of economic trees such as shea trees, rosewood, timber, wawa trees among others.

The inspiration, according to the minister-designate for Lands and Natural Resource, was drawn from an initiative by the Ethiopian President’s vision to plant millions of trees across Africa’s second most populous nation due to the negative impact of climate change especially in relation to droughts in parts of the country.