Timber Companies owing over 12 million Ghana cedis

Accra, July, GNA - At the close of business on June 30, this year, 927 timber firms owed the Forestry Commission a total of 12,410,567.55 Ghana cedis.

Out of this amount, a total of 1,700,000 has been outstanding since 1999 and is owed by some 388 timber firms, Mrs. Esther Obeng-Dapaah, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines said in Parliament on Thursday.

In response to a question, she said some measures have been instituted to retrieve the monies. She said in January this year, the Forestry Commission, on the directives of the Ministry, contracted a legal firm to institute judicial process to retrieve 1,700,000 Ghana cedis . "Bank guarantees covering the total amount owed by companies is now being demanded from firms before granting entry permits so that in case of default of payment, the banks will be made to pay on behalf of the firms."

"The Forestry Commission, in accordance with terms and conditions for granting of timber harvesting rights to these companies suspended their operations and has issued a final demand notice to all the indebted companies to settle their liabilities by September 2008," the Minister said. She said the failure of these companies to pay up would result in extinguishing the rights of all companies to harvest timber in these areas.

Mrs Obeng-Dapaah, in response to another question, said the Nyinahin bauxite deposits in the Ashanti Region were the largest so far discovered in the country. "Currently, a due diligence permit has been granted to the Volta Aluminium Company Limited for six months to validate information obtained from previous exploratory works and initiate follow up actions. She was responding to a question on when work would begin on the bauxite deposits.

She said VALCO, together with some international companies, were carrying out due diligence.