New zoo planned for Achimota forest

Animals from the Accra zoo, dislocated because of the construction of a presidential palace, have finally been settled at the Kumasi zoo. Friends of the zoo, animals and the earth complained about the decision to shut down the Accra zoo to make way for the building, but government insisted that the new structure needed more land space.

An earlier suggestion to construct a new zoo in the Achimota forest for the eventual relocation of the animals from Kumasi has been rejected by the GaDangne Council, which annoyingly asked government to look elsewhere.

But Minister for Lands & Forestry Professor Dominic Fobih speaking at the re-launch of the Kumasi zoo, which had itself been neglected for a long time said a new public zoo will be constructed inside the Achimota forest. In an apparent confirmation of the current state of the Kumasi zoo, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive Patricia Appiagyei promised that the zoo, which has lost its glory, would be restored.

She announced that the Hydraulic service department of Urban Roads Department would de-silt the drainage system at the zoo to prevent flooding there, while the assembly would also ensure that all roads leading to the zoo are maintained to make the place accessible.

The Chairman of the Accra Zoo Advisory Board Torgbi Kporku II who is also Chief of Alakple said many people visited the Accra Zoo as a source of entertainment and advised that the Kumasi zoo can also be revitalized to attract tourists.

He appealed to the Kumasi Management Board to set up Friends of the National Zoo, a group that would help maintain the zoo.

Professor John Owusu Addo who chairs the Kumasi Zoo Advisory Board said they are redesigning the place and have plans of stuffing it with other animals such as buffalos, elephants among others.

Professor Fobih observed that many Ghanaians, in the planning of their holidays, do not consider visiting the zoo. This, he said, is because the zoos in Accra and Kumasi have lost their former glory, making people look down on them. The minister said though there are numerous benefits derived from Zoos there is a wide gap between revenue accruing in the form of gate fees and the cost of maintaining the Zoos.

Professor Fobih stated that in spite of the difficulties, the zoos have to be kept hence the relocation.