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Ghana Forest Industries Association President Richard Nsenkyire says the Forest Plantation Development Fund Board has failed in its responsibility to help plant more trees over the years.
He says the board has a mandate that could transform the country’s timber industry, but it has not worked as expected.
“We have our own private plantations. And we know that one of the functions of this fund is to make loans to plantation producers. We have not requested it. I don’t know which companies have applied.
“But all my members have not been able to access this fund. But we are the main contributors to this fund, ”explained Mr. Nsenkyire, who is also Managing Director of the Samartex wood processing company.
“Initially, when the fund was created, I thought it was a brilliant idea to make sure our resource base grew. Because eventually, for environmental reasons, most of these plantations cover most of our rivers.
“The headwaters for environmental purposes, our foreign reserves, are running out. So, I thought that most of this funding could go to plantations and reforestation. But I have not seen anything like this, “he added.
Parliament passed the Forest Plantation Development Fund Law in 2000, allowing the establishment of the board to provide financial assistance for the development of forest plantations.
It is financed with levies on air-dried and unprocessed wood exported from the country, which according to estimates by the NGO Nature and Development Foundation (NDF) has generated more than ¢ 65 million for the Board.
A report published by the NGO states that the Forest Plantation Development Fund (FPDF) Board has not been transparent in its activities.
“The timber industry was not formally aware of the fund’s disbursements … There is limited access to the fund by its intended beneficiaries (forest plantation developers), as well as weak stakeholder involvement in the governance of the Fund “says the NDF report.
“The logging companies have no idea what the fund is doing. Nobody knows who the beneficiaries of the fund are. Nobody understands how the fund is distributed. Nobody understands what areas have been planted.
So, as stakeholders in the forestry industry, it is concerning that a fund established for the purpose of replenishing forests and establishing areas, both for climate change (fight) and for fiber, we can’t seem to find any evidence of their work. , ”Noted NDF Director Mustapha Seidu.
“The board should be reconstituted. Civil society must be added to the board… We believe that the responsibility ends with the minister. In fact, the chief director is a secretary of the board and reports to the minister. Overall supervision rests with parliament. Parliament should take an interest in what the board has been doing, ”he added.
He says that if the board works properly, it will help create more jobs for young people. “All governments are interested in establishing plantations. In addition, the manifestos speak of forestry for job creation.
They are thinking of plantations. One of the sources of funding for the establishment of plantations should be the board. If it’s managed well, the industry will be willing to contribute more, ”said Seidu.
“Then the destruction of natural resources because we cannot get enough wood from the forest will be completely reduced. In fact, many of the logging companies will now rely on plantations rather than natural forests. We are talking about illegal logging. If we had enough planting materials, that would be reduced. In fact, we do need to conserve biodiversity ”, he concluded.
Mr. Nsenkyire agrees. “We want a lot more responsibility from this fund. And the whole fund has to be restructured. There must be ministerial oversight. They have to get the stakeholders more involved. I want to see an audited account for this fund.
“Their operating account has to be made public because many of us live on the fringes. We do not know what is happening with this fund. They have to be much more transparent because it is the industry that is putting more into this, “he said.
“This has much more to do with the government. But Parliament can also summon the Minister of Finance. I want to see them intervene to make sure they at least regulate the fund so that it becomes much more public, ”Nsenkyire said.
But the Forest Plantation Development Fund has denied claims that there is no evidence of its work since its inception.
“The first meeting … we were able to make loans and grants to small farmers. You know that money is not enough, so you cannot give much. We also provide grants in the form of cutlasses, wellies, throughout Ghana, ”explained Alberta Essuman, manager of the fund.
The chairwoman of the fund’s board, Nana Osei Barimah, says that timber exporting companies are only trying to avoid paying taxes.
“What is really happening is that they want to make sure that maybe their money is not being used correctly and therefore the government should stop taking taxes from them. But that’s not the problem, ”he said.
“The money entering the fund is decreasing. So it is difficult to make an impact if the entire fund receives less than ¢ 10 million a year. How can it impact? It means that you can’t even help farmers to develop more hectares. So their concern is not here or in taxes, “added Nana Barimah.
