Timber dealers in Ashaiman seek tax waivers on wood imports
The Ashaiman Timber Market Association is seeking tax waivers from the government to enable its members to import timber from Liberia to support their operations.
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The decision followed what the association said was the lack of a sustainable management of the country’s forest reserves that had led to a massive depletion of wood resources.
According to the newly elected President of the Association, Mr Anthony Partey, access to legal lumber for the production of furniture and other carpentry works had become difficult since the Forestry Commission was no longer planting new trees.
Proposal
He told the Daily Graphic in an interview shortly after his election that the interim executive of the association which initiated the discussions with their Liberian counterparts also submitted a proposal for a tax waiver to the Ministries of Trade, Lands and Forestry and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry for consideration.
He said although the demand for wood by the domestic market continued to rise, the Forestry Commission had since 2011 not planted trees that could replace those that had matured and could be cut-down as well as those that might have been harvested.
“In the short term, we want the government to grant the tax waiver request since Ghana no longer has quality wood for production,” Mr Partey said.
Challenges
Mr Partey, pointing out the challenges of the association, indicated that timber logging and transportation had become a challenge for members.
Similarly, he alleged that wood workers were often harassed by the police even when they were transporting lumber they had acquired genuinely for their operations.
Elections
The elections, the first since the association was formed in 1987, saw Mr Mensah Akorli being elected the Vice Chairman.
Other executives are Madam Margaret Kwao, Assistant Treasurer, Mr Kwaku Appiah, Treasurer and Mr Eric Gidiglo as Financial Secretary, who will serve a four-year term.
Mr Partey pledged to carry out projects that had been on the association’s drawing board for years.
He said the previous administration which was chaired by Mr Victor Kobla Nyadi, initiated moves to rebuild the timber market to meet modern trends.
Already, he said, designs for the new project were ready and the new executive would meet with the consultant and investors engaged by the previous executive to discuss modalities for funding of the project.
Mr Partey also pledged to improve the sanitation situation within the market.
The chairman of the election committee of the association, Mr Delali Amexo commended the contestants for the peaceful nature of the polls.
