Fumesua (Ash), Dec 19, GNA - Eleven (11) former employees of the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) were on Friday honoured with=

awards, for their dedication and immense contribution to the institution. The famed queue, made up supervisors, technical officers, accountant= s, research scientists and overseers, had served at the Institute for period= s ranging from 25 to 37 years.

They received deep-freezers, specially framed Certificates and assorted gifts at a ceremony which coincided with the Institute's end of year get-together held at Fumesua near Kumasi. Dr. Victor Agyeman, Director of FORIG, said the institution was indebted to them for the commitment and passion with which they worked an= d would forever remain grateful.

He said he was confident that the serving staff would be inspired by=

their good works to increase productivity. Dr. Agyeman used the occasion to raise concern about delays in the payme= nt of salary to the workers and said everything must be done to address this= .. Another source of worry, he said, was the irregular release of the Institute's administrative funds that had been in arrears since May. He said they were making significant progress in their research activiti= es and praised the workers.

Professor Joshua Ayarkwa, a former Director of FORIG, currently, Dean o= f Faculty of Agriculture, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology (KNUST) urged them to ensure team work and a united front to promote forestry development in the country. He said he was proud of the tremendous strides the Institute had made si= nce his departure and commended the management for a good job. Prof. Ayarkwa said he was impressed by the recognition of the former employees. 19 Dec.09