Madam Esther Obeng Dapaah
26 November 2007
The Ghana Timer Association (GTA) has appealed to the minister of Lands and Forestry, Madam Esther Obeng Dapaah to consider members of the association when it comes to the allocation of timber concessions for extraction of logs for export.
Mr. Isaac Kofi Nketiah, the national treasurer of the GTA who made the appeal after swearing in of the newly elected executives of the association in Kumasi last week Friday noted that as an indigenous group one would have expected that they would be giving priority when it comes to distribution of timber concessions but the opposite is the case.
Nketiah regretted that priority attention is rather giving to foreigners especially Lebanese and Syrian nationals who are operating in the sector whilst members of the GTA are relegated to the background. According to him the GTA was also making contributions towards the growth of the economy therefore it is unfair for them to be treated in such a way. He noted that they had raised issue several times but nothing concrete has been done about it. He was therefore hopeful that Madam Obeng Dapaah as a new sector minister would this time round listen to their plight.
Isaac Kofi Nketiah has meanwhile commended the minister for the being the first sector minister in recent years to grace a programme organized by the association. The GTA treasurer noted that since it has not been easy for them to get ministers to attend their programmes, they least expected Madam Dapaah to honour the invitation but she proved them wrong. According to him not only did the minister honour their invitation but also came with her deputy which the GTA considered as good things to come.
Nketiah told The Chronicle that the GTA has been making significant contributions to the economy of Ghana through taxes members of the association paid to the government for national development. They have also offered employment to large number of Ghanaians especially in the rural areas. He noted that with such a significant contribution they have been making, they expected sector ministers to have paid attention to their programme and activities but it was not forth coming.
For Madam Dapaah to have attended our programme shows the importance she attaches to our contribution and we commend her for that, he said. Nketiah was hopeful that this would neither be the first time she would honour their invitation nor the last programme she would attend adding that the cordial relationship she has established with them should continue for the benefit of the Ghanaian economy.
Among the executives that were sworn into office were Mr. Boateng Poku, president, Isaac Nketiah, treasurer and thirteen others. Also present was Mr. Wereko Brobbey, a member of the Forestry Commission board.
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