Kumasi, July 16, GNA - As part of measures to make lumber more accessible and affordable to wood processing, the Wood Workers Association of Ghana (WAG) is to encourage the formation of co-operatives among members.
Mr Reynolds A. Debrah, Ashanti Regional chairman of the WAG, who announced this, explained that the co-operatives would enable members to mobilise resources for procurement of logs directly from the Ghana Timber Association (GTA) to be processed into lumber at designated sawmills.
Mr. Debrah was speaking at a meeting of the regional executive committee of WAG in Kumasi on Wednesday.
"I am convinced that encouraging the co-operative system amongst our members will make lumber more easily accessible and also affordable than the current practice whereby individual wood processors buy lumber direct from the sawmills", he stated.
He admitted that even though there was a government directive that 20 percent of lumber from sawmills be made available to the local market, only few of the sawmills have complied with the directive. Mr Debrah noted that the few, who also abide by the directive, end up pricing their lumber so high that most wood processors are unable to procure them for their work.
The regional WAG chairman disclosed that the executive committee would soon embark on a programme to visit all branches of the association to sensitise them on the need to pay their taxes and also on various government policies related to the wood industry.
He said in the meantime, a task force had been put in place to help collect taxes from all wood processors in the region.
Prince Brenya Bonsu, National President of WAG, appealed to the government not only to increase the volume of lumber on the local market but also strive to impress on the sawmillers "to make prices of the lumber more affordable".
Attention Recipients, item NSCE 06 ends our second cast.
