Ministry to get tough with defaulting timber firms

The Minister for Lands, Forestry and Mines Esther Obeng Dapaah has stated that the Forestry Commission will no longer issue license to timber companies who are indebted to it.

She said, 927 timber firms owe the Forestry Commission to the tune of GH¢12,410,567.55 as of June 30, this year. Out of this amount, a total of GH¢1,700,000(which is mainly stumpage fees) has been outstanding since 1999 and this is owed by some 388 timber firms.

This was part of the Minister's answer to a questioned posed by Kwadwo Agyei Addo (NPP, Fanteakwa) who asked her, how much is owed by timber firms to the Forestry Commission and what measures have been put in place to recoup this indebtedness.

The amount according to her consist of Stumpage fees on Natural, Forest Timber and competitive bidding of Plantation of timber

She said, stumpage fees, the debt has accumulated as a result of the institution of injunction by the courts following the challenge by the Ghana Timber Association on the basis on which the calculation for the payment of the stumpage of the stumpage fees were made by the Forestry Commission.

"With regards to the outstanding liabilities on the payment on Timber Rights Fees following the competitive bidding for the grant of timber rights, the debt of GH¢7,637,366.79 has accumulated since 2003 due to the non payment of pledges made by timber firms".

Ms Obeng Dapaah stated that in January 2008, the Forestry Commission on the directives of the Ministry, contracted a legal firm (Messrs Addae Twum & Partners ) to institute judicial process to retrieve these debt of (GH¢1,700,000) for disbursement as required by law, the legal firm is expected to submit its first report by the end of this month.

In addition to this she indicated that "Settlement of outstanding debts has been made a pre-condition prior to semi-annual renewal of property marks. It is expected that the debt will significantly reduce their property marks".

"The Commission has compiled a list of 927 companies who are indebted to the Commission and they are in the process of publishing their names in dailies by the third quarter of 2008 and bank guarantee covering the total amount owed by companies is now being demanded from firms before granting entry permits so that in case of default of payment, the banks will make to pay on behalf of the firms".

"The Forestry Commission in accordance with terms and conditions for grant of timber harvestigrightsthese companies suspended their operations and has issued final Demand Notice to all the indebted companies to settle their liabilities by September 2008. Failure of any company to settle their indebtedness by the said deadline, the Forestry Commission shall extinguish rights of the companies to harvest timber in these areas, put all such areas into a pool lf unallocated areas for re-allocation on the basis of laid down procedures for granting harvesting rights", she further noted.