Government to Fight Lumber Smuggling

Government has vowed to stop the smuggling of lumber to neighbouring countries by discouraging the local processing of endangered timber species.

The government would do this by collaborating with all the stakeholders in the timber industry.

The Deputy Minister of Lands and Forestry Mr. Clement Eledi revealed this at the National Workshop on Standards for Wood and Wood Products yesterday.

He noted that Ghana's forest cover at the beginning of the 20th Century was 8.2 million hectares. However within a span of one century it has drastically reduced to 1.6 million. This trend if left unchecked, could deplete the country's forest resources within the next few decades.

The Deputy Minister lamented that 30% of all timber harvested in the country's forest are left to rot and waste.

"Our furniture producers and small scale carpenters purchase long planks of timber only to saw them into off cuts, thereby wasting a large proportion of the timber."

According to Mr. Eledi, pragmatic measures would be adopted to resolve inadequate supply of lumber for domestic and constructional needs of the country.

He disclosed that the government would implement the provision in section 18(h) of the Timber Resources Management Act, 1997 which requires processing mills in the country to set aside part of their production for the domestic market.

To this end, the Ministry for Lands and Forestry has given a directive to the Forestry Commission to request all processing mills in the country to make available to the domestic market 20% of their lumber and other products.

In a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Minister for Works and Housing, the outgoing Minister for Works and Housing, Mr. Kwamena Bartels said the standards of wood and wood products should not remain a mere academic document, noting that its contents must be well disseminated and circulated to all manufactures of furniture products.

He added that, the general public should not be left out in this exercise, because many people do not seek professional advice before undertaking housing projects.