Ghana will soon begin the importation of timber from Cameroun and Guyana, deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Barbara Serwaa Asamoah has revealed.
According to her, the government was currently in talks with the two countries to see how best they could reduce taxes on timber that might be imported from those countries.
“We are also negotiating with the Ministry of Finance for the go-ahead to start the importation.”
Speaking at the 5th edition of National Forest Forum-Ghana (NFF-G) in Dodowa on Friday, the deputy minister said this was necessary because timber products on the domestic market were inadequate.
“There is high demand for timber products in the country but the current timber production capacity is extremely low and if the government fails to bring in additional supply, illegal chainsaw activities could increase tremendously
The trees we have in our forest are just small. Most of the mahogany and other tree species are gradually finishing, if we do not feed employers within the industry they will lay off their employees,” she explained.
The forum, which was attended by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), policymakers and traditional leaders from the 10 regions under the theme: ‘Deepening Ghana’s Country Dialogue-Contribution to sustainable forest management,’ was organized by NFF-G to grant stakeholders the platform to dialogue on ways of sustaining Ghana’s natural resources.
Ms. Serwaa Asamoah added that government had adopted the implementation of Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), with the introduction of the public procurement policy in which only legally acquired timber will be used for all government projects.
She however mentioned that, “government is the lead developer in the timber industry and if it acquires all its timber from legal sources, it will go a long way to halt illegal lumbering and help the local timber industry.”
Business World (with notes from Daily Guide)