A tour of sawn timber markets in Kumasi has revealed that over ninety-five percent of industry players are operating without licences.
A tour of sawn timber markets in Kumasi has revealed that over ninety-five percent of industry players are operating without licences.
The Director of the Timber Monitoring Team, Alhaji Mohammed Doku, who led the team, said the situation is fueling illegal logging and making it difficult to trace wood to its source.
“Most of the people dealing in timber in Ghana now, about 95% of them, are not registered online. Anybody at all can enter the forest, saw lumber, and decide to take it to another destination to sell,” he said.
He made the revelation during a stakeholder engagement with timber sellers in five wood markets in Kumasi aimed at improving documentation, protecting forest reserves, and enhancing the tracking of wood in the country.
According to the team, at least five thousand people deal directly in wood in Kumasi alone, with at least four times that number serving under the dealers.
During the engagement, it was revealed that most traders and workers in the sector fall short of proper documentation.
For this reason, their timber in transit is often impounded by law enforcement, a situation that affects their trade.
In separate open forums for the industry players, it was revealed that many have had their goods impounded for different reasons.
Common among the reasons are documentation challenges, including conveyance licences, among others.
In dealing with the challenge, the director of the Timber Monitoring Team has assured the sector players of the office’s willingness to facilitate their registration.
He believes with the needed documentation, law enforcement agencies will not interfere with their business.
