The Chief Executive (CE) of Forestry Commission (FC), Mr. John Allotey paid a working visit to the Nkawie Forest District of the Forests Services Division (FSD) in the Ashanti Region.
He was accompanied by Mr. Iddrisu Musah, Deputy Chief Executive, and Mr. Clement Omari, the Ashanti Regional Manager of Forestry Commission.
The District Manager Mr. Chrisantus Nifaasoyir, welcomed the Chief Executive and his team and thanked them for such a visit.
The CE used the opportunity to commend and congratulate the District for being the highest in exceeding their set target by about 50% in the 2022 Green Ghana Day planting exercise. He encouraged staff to monitor and maintain planted seedlings for proper growth and advised the District to engage the communities, involve the Assemblymen and Unit Committee members to ensure the growth and maturity of trees planted.
 Mr. Allotey stated that, the purpose of the visit was to interact with staff of the District and acquaint himself with happenings in the District.
He assured that, going forward, FC will take keen interest in the welfare of staff by setting up a Counselling Unit to provide psychological help to staff when necessary.
He further stated that, young staff should seize the opportunities available to upgrade themselves and expand their scope of knowledge and urged the District Manager and all Senior Officers to train the upcoming staff very well.
Mr. Allotey advised staff to make use of modern technology in the day to day monitoring of field activities and added that, administrative staff should also visit the field to enable them understand what goes on in the fields and appreciate the work operational staff do.
He encouraged staff to propagate the various activities the Commission does through various media platforms by visiting recreational places like the zoos, waterfalls, game parks and many more by taking pictures and posting them on individual social media handles like Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook.
The Chief Executive mentioned that, there are plans to appoint public relations officers in every District, whose responsibilities among others will be to identify specific areas and create more information about the work in the District.
He also touched on illegal mining and chain sawing activities and cautioned the District to step-up their monitoring activities in order to stop any influx. He observed that the adjourning Districts have so many challenges with illegalities and if care is not taken Nkawie can be a fertile ground for forest illegalities.
He then stressed on the need for the District to engage in raising fruit tree seedlings for distribution to individuals especially, during the Green Ghana Day planting activities.
After the meeting with staff, he inspected various offices and interacted with the supporting staff