THE Central Region branch of the Ghana Timber Association has expressed support for the afforestation programme outlined in the proposed Timber Rights Bill which is yet to be laid before Parliament. The branch has accordingly appealed to chiefs and district assemblies in timber producing areas to release land for tree-planting. These were part of decisions taken at a meeting of the association at Assin Fosu on Thursday. Members said they would be prepared to support the development of such afforestation projects if land is released for the purpose. In a resolution, the branch appealed to the government to waive the payment of royalties on the logs that were auctioned in 1993 because the logs were left at the Takoradi Port where they got rotten and were later burnt. The resolution said despite the fact that the logs were not exported to enable them to recover even their haulage cost, the royalties on the logs have still been debited against the loggers and remain outstanding and a burden on members of the association. It said the auction system introduced by the Ministry of Lands and Forestry brought untold hardships to their members, some of whom died from the shock of their wasted investment whilst others sold their personal properties to offset their indebtedness. The resolution further appealed to the ministry to review certain provisions in the Timber Rights Bill which have generated tension among timber operators, especially on concession allocation through the binding system. Graphic
