The Majority Leader of Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has applauded the Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi for his good research statement on the menace of bush fires.

The leader of the house encourages members to follow this path in the future to enable the house to benefit from statements made in the house.

After Members of both sides of the House showed interest in the statement in their contribution, the Speaker of the House, Right Honorable Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin referred the statement to the relevant committee of parliament to consider and recommend same to the appropriate Ministry for National implementation.

Reading the statement on the floor of parliament, The Bole Bamboi MP, told the house that, on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, the Ghana Meteorological Agency issued a press statement on the subject Harmattan Weather Alert. In the statement, the Agency notes that from 20" January 2021, harmattan will intensify as dry and dusty continental winds from Chad will be entering Ghana.

He noted that the statement from the Ghana Meteorological Agency cautions that the Northern half of our country is expected to be drier with an increased probability of fire outbreaks. It has therefore become extremely necessary for this House to take notice of this issue and to offer valuable insights to the citizenry. 

According to Hon Yusif Sulemana, lately, the damaging effects of bushfires especially in the Savannah zone have been exacerbated by the effects of climate change characterized by a large expanse of dry fields.

 Mr Yusif indicated that, consequently, in the harmattan season, it is common to see unhindered winds travelling on average at 50km/h and in the process causing uncontrollable bushfires. The adverse impact of these fires on rural economies and folks cannot be overemphasized. 

Further, the lawmaker provided to the August house a social survey conducted by Kusimi and Appati.

"2012 showed that bushfires have impacted individuals and, in some cases, whole communities in the form of loss of lives and/or property. Mr Speaker, their survey presented evidence of cases where part or whole communities are raised down and large tracts of fields of maize, rice, cassava, cashew, mango, etc. destroyed.

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"On the household/community level, millions of Ghana Cedis in properties are estimated to be lost in the last decade due to major wildfires," he added.

He asserted that aside from the above, installations especially electrical poles are burnt and have to be replaced on a yearly basis.

"The disruption of power supply resulting from these, over the years, have negatively affected the socio-economic activities and livelihoods of citizens especially those engaged in the sale of food, cold store, and beverage/drinks business.

"In most cases, these people are forced to discard large quantities of rotten stock at their own expense. Without even considering its impact on other small scale artisanal industries like welding, it is almost impossible to quantify the loss in monetary terms of this annual occurrence. 

The trade and industry Committee member said whiles the effect of bushfires on agricultural and other artisanal productivity is well documented especially with the 1983 crisis still fresh in the minds of people, its effects on the natural environment has mostly been ignored.

Devastating fires alter ecosystems by removing the vegetative cover and modifying soil characteristics. Indeed, scientific research has shown that high temperatures destroy soil organic matter, damage soil structure and microorganisms.

EK Ansah, Parliament Correspondent