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Royal funeral lessons: Responsibility for landscape and environment

Royal funeral lessons: Responsibility for landscape and environment

I picked quite a lot from the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II – human, technological and environmental lessons, to name three. I touch on the environment here.

From Balmoral, where the Queen took her last breath, through Aberdeen to Edinburgh and dotted villages through Buckingham Palace to Westminster, the constant theme was planned landscape gardening and disciplined infrastructural development; the aesthetics is a complete topic on its own. The theme brought me nostalgia! It reminded me of the days when there was evidence of town and country planning in Ghana.

I am happy that the Queen did not visit Ghana just before her demise, else she would have gone to her grave in disenchantment. When she visited Ghana in the early 60s, she named Kumasi the Garden City due to its floral landscaping. Those were the days when streets and parks got their names from vegetation, so there are Palm and Pine Avenues. An extinct park close to South Junction was named after the rubber plants which covered the then green space.

The Neem Tree, nicknamed Prince of Wales, lined the road from the Cultural Centre to Kejetia. It also dotted Danyame, which area still maintains a semblance of the vegetation, but generally, Kumasi has degenerated into a stall city. Even the Children’s Park at Afful Nkwanta is being besieged by container stalls. One earnestly hopes that the vegetation will not be cleared to make way for stalls. Should King Charles III, a passionate environmentalist, visit Ghana, he just might throw us out of the Commonwealth for environmental degradation.

And he would be right in doing so due to the high level of irresponsibility which characterises the construction of stalls. There is an alarming single-mindedness about siting stalls in Ghana. Apparently, people are determined to build on every available space. I almost laughed out of pain when I saw some young female workers wearing a T-shirt with the inscription KKCG – Keep Kumasi Clean and Green. Stalls are whitening, not greening Kumasi!

I listened to a BBC documentary in which an architect stated that architecture was not only about physical infrastructure, but it was also about landscaping. His explanation increased my appreciation for landscape gardening and its beautifying, transformational effect on buildings. However, in Ghana, most landowners target money, disregarding landscaping. Recently, I saw a social media post which chastised people for planting flowers instead of food in their gardens. At least, the person had planting interests.

The irony surrounding the construction of stalls is its potential to deface landmark or uproot people. It is the most heart-wrenching sight when an age-old tree which provides the much-needed coverage against adverse weather is being uprooted for the construction of stalls. Currently, it is a headache to be resident in houses by streets because the possibility of getting ejected for stall construction is increasingly high.

It is blind-copying mentality at work; people have learnt that there is money involved in stalls, so they just construct. A targeted premises might house activity such as reading or writing or other literary, socio-cultural endeavour that contributes to intellectual development. Yet, that would not matter at all, because it might not attract hefty sums of rent.

In effect, the root of the bizarre trend in stall construction across the country relates to the mindless pursuit of riches among contemporary Ghanaians. The mindlessness stems from the fact that neither human nor environmental protection is prioritised. Thus, stalls are sited over drains, fire hydrants, waterways, even in roads. People wilfully occupy such stalls. The rain then comes and floods habitat; fire engines are ineffective due to water shortage or fail to access certain areas during fire outbreak. Consequently, lives and property are unnecessarily lost, then the same culprits go on air to blame others and cry to the government for help.

Choices and consequences spell responsibility and caution but the concept is foreign to many contemporary Ghanaians. In theory, the construction of stalls should be guided by safety principles. However, property owners and developers disdain safety and construct stalls, which might not only constitute an eyesore but also pose high risks to patrons.

When will wilful destroyers of humans, land and water wisely focus on humanity and environment? When will the greedy learn the worth of selflessness to empathise, to promote rather than demean human existence? When will the defacing halt for conscientious real estate development? With bated breath, one waits for that day. Until then, may the beautiful, serene landscaping of England engage our sensibilities for protection, not wanton destruction of land and landscape for money.

The writer is an instructor, Language and Communication Skills at the Takoradi Technical University, Takoradi.

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