Stephen Odoi-Larbi
1 October 2008
The Government of Ghana is embarking on a number of policies, aimed at restructuring the timber industry, to make it the hub for tertiary processing of wood products in the sub-region, whilst eliminating illegal logging.
Among the policies embarked upon by the government include the intensification of its plantations development programme, through the implementation of the National Forest Plantation Development Programme (NFPDP), aimed at securing the raw material base of the timber industry.
This programme also seeks to fill the timber supply and demand gap in the country, while restoring degraded forest areas, in line with the country's land policy.
Government is also aiming to embark on further domestic processing of plantation timber, to enable the country shift from the commodity market in wood products, to that of value-added processing industry.
The Minister for Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mrs. Esther Obeng Dapaah, made these known when she addressed a group of media practitioners in Accra, on the occasion of the launch of the first Timber Industry Awards, with the theme, "100 years of forestry; projecting excellence in a complex and challenging industry."
According to her, government desirous of achieving its aim of making the country the gateway to Africa was leaving no stone unturned, in all sectors of the economy.
To this effect, she said, government had adopted a holistic approach to natural resource management, through the Natural Resource Environmental and Governance (NREG) programme, to strengthen natural resources, and environmental governance.
This, she said, would ensure that natural resources contribute to greater wealth and sustainable economic growth of the country.
The Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission of Ghana, Professor Nii Ashie Kotey, observed that even though the performance of his outfit was marred by lots of challenges, it had over the years made significant gains, and has thus contributed its quota to the socio-economic development of the country.
"In spite of the many challenges confronting the Forestry Commission, in pursuit of its assigned responsibilities, the industry has stayed as a major foreign exchange earner, and a source of employment in the economy, over the last century, with figures rising and averaging around US$180 million annually," he said.
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