Justine Muboka
23 September 2008
The National Forestry Authority has given timber dealers in Gulu and Amuru districts up to two weeks to clear all the timber sheds with illegal wood.
NFA's Aswa range manager Denis Oyiro said 80 per cent of timber sold in Gulu is illegal and should be impounded.
"Most of the timber is power sawn, something that is against the law. Using the power saw is wasteful," Mr Oyiro said. "Legal timber should posses a legal hammer mark and forestry declaration form."
Mr Oyiro was on Thursday speaking during a meeting to sensitise timber dealers on how to conduct their business legally.
"We are going to put hammer marks on the timber in the shades and nobody should bring in illegal timber after the two weeks of amnesty," he said.
Mr Pope Onen, a representative of the dealers, said they use the power saw because they sometimes get their timber near streams.
He said the logs sometimes fall in the water and the only way of getting them out is using the power saw. "We pay a lot of money in taxes to various authorities and are most of the time left with meagre profits," Mr Onen said.
"Before you start to cut timber in an area, the local councils will ask you to pay some money," he said. "We are not issued with receipts for the payments we make."
Timber dealers in Gulu and Amuru buy their timber from Hoima and Masindi, as there is no high quality timber in the sub-region.
Mr Oyiro said there is a challenge of counterfeit hammers especially in Masindi District. He said the last time Masindi had a genuine hammer was five years ago.
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