Timber contractors ordered to suspend operations

The Forestry Commission has ordered six timber contractors to temporary suspend their logging activities in the Kwahu Afram Plains South and Kwahu Afram Plains North districts for failing to sign a social responsibility agreement with the communities where they operate.

The contractors are JAN Timber limited, BBAlene Timbers Limited, ABC Company Limited, Sincim Company Limited, Kwabena Owusu Timbers Limited and Huterto Timbers and Mining Company Limited.

The Donkorkrom District Assistant Forestry Manager, Mr Francis Kazaare, said this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Media Auditing and Tracking of Development Projects Team at Donkorkrom.

The project is sponsored by STAR-Ghana and is aimed at promoting grassroots participation in governance as a way of supporting the socio-economic development of the district.

He said the suspension followed complains from farmers that the contractors failed to compensate them after destroying their crops and valuable properties and their failure to sign the social responsibility agreement with them.

Mr Kazaare said there were only five technical officers monitoring illegal logging of timber products in the three forest reserves and stool lands in the two districts and therefore appealed for more technical staffs to ensure effective monitoring of illegal logging.

He said the timber contractors’ social responsibility agreement would be sent to the Forestry Commission’s headquarters in Accra for examination before allowing them to resume operations.