Land belonging to the Department of Parks and Gardens at Cantonments in Accra is once again at the centre of controversy following a proposal by the Ghana Gold Board to acquire three acres of the property in exchange for the construction of what has been described as an “edifice” for the department.

The Director of Parks and Gardens, Dr Daniel Kingsford Adams, has confirmed the proposal but workers of the department have strongly rejected the planned land-for-building arrangement.

The development has also triggered concerns among environmental advocates who fear Ghana could lose yet another public green space to commercial and infrastructural development.

The Eco-Conscious Citizens group says the Parks and Gardens lands were not acquired for private development but for a deliberate national purpose to promote horticulture, beautify Ghanaian cities and protect the environment.

The group is therefore calling on the Minister for Local Government, Mahama Ayariga, to intervene and ensure that the lands belonging to Parks and Gardens across the country are protected and used strictly for the purposes for which they were acquired.

“Eco-Conscious Citizens stand with Parks & Gardens workers and urge the Minister for Local Government, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, to ensure that Parks & Gardens lands across Ghana are kept for horticultural purposes, the reason for which they were acquired. The Group is also asking for an audit of all Parks & Gardens land.

“At a time when our forests are being decimated, our green spaces encroached by developers, we cannot stand idly by whilst there are attempts to appropriate Parks & Gardens land.”

According to the group, Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, recognised the importance of environmental conservation and urban green spaces and acquired lands in regional capitals across the country to beautify cities, support horticulture and preserve the environment.

In 1965, the Parks and Gardens Ministry was established under Cabinet Minister Emmanuel Nee Ocansey.

However, following the 1966 coup, the ministry was downgraded to a department and is currently under the Ministry of Local Government.

The Eco-Conscious Citizens group is now demanding a comprehensive audit of all lands belonging to the Department of Parks and Gardens amid growing concerns about encroachment and the possible loss of public lands originally reserved for environmental and horticultural development.

The group argues that the latest attempt to acquire part of the Cantonments land comes at a particularly critical time for Ghana’s environment.

With forests under increasing pressure from illegal mining, logging and other human activities, and urban green spaces steadily giving way to concrete developments, the group insists the country cannot afford to lose land deliberately reserved for horticulture and environmental conservation.

The workers and environmental advocates are therefore warning that any decision to surrender the three acres could set a dangerous precedent for other Parks and Gardens lands across the country.

Their message to government is clear: public green spaces are not vacant lands waiting to be developed—they are critical environmental assets that must be protected for present and future generations.

The fate of the three acres at Cantonments is now emerging as a broader test of government’s commitment to protecting Ghana’s rapidly shrinking green spaces.