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Unfolding events surrounding the upkeep of the Aburi Botanical Gardens and the destruction of its forest reserve have provoked Parliament to summon the Minister of Local Government & Rural Development for questioning, come Tuesday, June 24, 2014. The decision of the legislature was influenced by a question filed by the New Patriotic (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Akuapem South, Osei Bonsu Amoah, in the Business Statement delivered on the floor of the House last Friday. The Akuampem South legislator is seeking to know from the Executive, through the Speaker of Parliament, what measures the Minister of Local Government & Rural Development is putting in place towards the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Aburi Botanical Gardens. O.B. Amoah is also expected to further quiz the Minister about whether he authorized the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Kwadwo Afari-Gyan to develop a portion of the forest reserve into an office complex for the assembly. That notwithstanding, the former deputy Minister for Youth & Sports is expected to demand documentary proof whether the Forestry Commission and the Department of Parks and Gardens have consented to the portion of the forest reserve being developed by the DCE if any and whether it has the backing of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Other Members of Parliament are also expected to subject the Minister to further questioning as the destruction of the forest reserve by the DCE has sparked public outcry because of its ecological importance to the people of Ghana. The Aburi Botanical Gardens, which operates under the Department of Parks & Gardens and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are all agencies under the Ministry of Local Government & Rural Development. Ever since the DCE attempted to develop a portion of the forest reserve into an office complex, the Forestry Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency have reacted by sending a notice to Mr. Afari-Gyan, warning him not to encroach on the reserve, since the area serves as a wildlife habitat. The notice, The Chronicle learnt, was sent to the DCE through the Ministry of Local Government & Rural Development. President John Dramani Mahama, alarmed by the destruction of a portion of the forest reserve, also summoned then Minister of Local Government & Rural Development, Kwasi Oppong-Fosu, for questioning. It is, however, unclear whether the destruction of the forest reserve had an impact on President Mahama to re-assign Mr. Oppong-Fosu to a different ministry, with Mr. Julius Debrah, assuming the position. The Aburi Botanical Gardens covers an area of 160 acres (64.34 hectares), out of which 35 acres have been developed. The Gardens is one of the leading gardens in the world for research into tropical botany. It is made up of orchids, flower plots, rock gardens, children�s park, nurseries and chalets (apartments for rental). It further has 13 hectares of undeveloped land (forest) reserved in its wild state, as a means of stabilising the ecology of the area.