At The Mercy Of the Flood

Imagine walking for days in a desert without water and food with your throat dry and lips virtually cracking while there appears to be no hope of your immediate need in sight.

All anyone in such a situation would long for in the first place will obviously be water to quench their thirst then if possible wish for food.

Studies indicate that one-third of the African population does not have access to drinking water and almost half of the people on the continent have health problems due to the lack of clean drinking water.

Though 75 per cent of the Planet Earth is covered with water which is why it is also referred to as the blue planet.

Humans need water for a variety of things. Aside drinking, cooking, bathing and washing, other activities such as travel, commerce and entertainment also call for the use of water.

To achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015, aimed at reducing the world population suffering from water shortage by half, the African continent alone, needs at least $12 billion each year to realize this goal.

On the part of Ghana, 78 per cent of the population needs to gain access to potable water before it could attain the MDGs which have a little over five years to reach its target year.

Noble Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev, a former president of the then Soviet Union, once said that “Water, like religion and ideology, has the power to move millions of people.

Since the very birth of human civilization, people have moved to settle close to it. People move when there is too little of it.

People move when there is too much of it. People journey down it. People write, sing and dance about it. People fight over it. And all people everywhere and everyday need it.”

Many in Ghana can not but agree with the noble laureate as after several months of drought, the rains have finally arrived with force, destroying homes, taking lives and leaving crops underwater with over 2000 people feared displaced.

Heavy rainfall in different parts of the country has destroyed lots of property and claimed many human lives.

On Sunday, June 20, Accra, Tema, Sewdru, and some parts of the Western and Central Regions and other towns were hit by a severe downpour of rain.

After over 12 hours of incessant downpour on that day, not only has property been destroyed as about 34 lives have been lost while others are still recuperating in various hospitals across the country.

The rainfall has been described by the Meteorological Services Agency as one of the highest in the country’s history.

Meanwhile, Highways and Roads Minister Joe Gidisu who called the situation a “national crisis” said “never in the last 15 years have we seen this kind of flooding, especially in the Greater Accra Region where roads have been washed away and bridges collapsed, leading to the loss of lives and properties."

Even after four days, Dorothy Danso, a teacher at Kasoa, in the Central Region cannot come to terms with the effects of the torrential rainfall.

Her house has been washed away and a sobering Dorothy looks on helplessly at the debris which is all she has left of her life time investment.

“When can I put up a house of my own again? Why did I have to lose my house as a result of the negligence of the Assembly officials who have not heard our call on them to speed up the construction of drains here?” questioned a tearful Dorothy.

Sections of the Swedru-Winneba road, a major asphalted road that links the two municipalities, were totally destroyed by the floods.

The forceful gashing floodwater destroyed a bridge which cart commuters from both sides while economic activities came to a standstill.

Flooding in Ghana is a perennial problem as each year; the adverse effects of rainfall are felt.

However, over the years, very little has been done to avert the situation.

The coming of the rains and its subsequent flood have left the Metropolitan Assembly officials emboldened to carry out a demolition exercise as it has previously cited buildings on waterways as the main cause of the problem.

Every year, the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies threaten to demolish buildings on water courses. However, they lack the political will to do so.

Following the recent destruction by rainfall, the National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has been battling with how to help victims rebuild their lives.

The organization in collaboration with some humanitarian agencies is distributing relief items including food and clothing to victims of the flood.

The military and Red Cross were seen continuing with rescue and evacuation operations in Tema, Ashaima and Kpone, East Accra regions, where over 1,000 buildings were damaged, causing losses to thousands of people.

With other alternative homes being provided for the homeless, the Navy also provided two boats to help ferry people to safety.

According to Ebenezer Dosu, Deputy NADMO Co-ordinator, 200 of the flood victims were provided with alternative accommodation in Swedru, Tema and some parts of Accra.

City authorities are resolute to pursue their decision to pull down all houses in water ways and the Tema Municipal Assembly Public Relations Officer, Frank Asante, confirms that more houses would be demolished as most of the marked buildings “are impediments to the free flow of water.”

Gilbert Boamah, a legal practitioner in Accra obviously supports the authorities as he comments “If we need to clear houses to make it possible for the passage of water during rainfall, we need to do so.”

But it is not all who support the decision. Moses Dartey a resident of Sakomono where a number of houses have been marked with the TMA red paint “to be demolished,” blames the city authorities for failing to monitor and prevent the illegal structures.

To him demolishing the buildings may create new problems and proposes that the water is diverted while proper measures are instituted to prevent the construction of new buildings in water ways.

Those who are likely to be affected by such demolitions demand that they are paid compensations, enough for them to re-settle.

Though many of the houses are in places zoned as flood areas and water courses, some residents claim they were granted building permits by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, which the authorities say are fake.

But Major (Rtd) Mensah, PRO of NADMO believes there is no need for such compensations since such buildings are not supposed to be sited there in the first place.

“If it is an illegality, then the state cannot be burdened with providing alternative accommodation or land for affected persons.”

The mayor of Accra, Alfred Vanderpuye, says “we cannot allow such impunity to continue.” He insists only individuals who have permits will be compensated, but those without permits will not.

President John Evans Atta Mills who has since visited the affected victims reminded the affected residents that government would not hesitate to demolish structures on waterways, the effect of which puts a larger responsibility on government.

The phenomena had been blamed on the disposal of solid waste in drains as the choked nature of drainage systems are the causes of the floods. Others have proposed the construction of large underground drains.

Though the country is yet to recover from the havoc caused by the floods, forecasts from the Meteorological Services Agency suggest that Ghana will be recording some more torrential rainfalls.

A walk through most parts of the country with the glaring disaster caused by the rain makes anyone hear the old rhythm that kids learn on their fist day at the Kindergarten: rain, rain go away. Go and come another day, little children want to play. Rain, rain, go away.

It is during these times that Kofi Portuphy, NADMO Coordinator, has come under attack after stating that the organization needs about 68 million euro to help it function more effectively. The amount is to acquire equipment that would help “respond more swiftly and properly to disaster.”

Dr. Nii Moi Thompson who openly expressed contrary view to that of the NADMO coordinator’s is rather of the view that government needs to ensure proper and effective planning to avoid the perennial flooding that confronts the nation.

Daily Guide Picks 3 Awards

Two journalists and the famous crack cartoonist, Akosua of DAILY GUIDE and BUSINESS GUIDE picked three awards at the 15th Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA) Awards last Saturday night.

This was an improvement over last year’s awards when the leading private newspaper in the country and number two on the sales market picked one award for Best Design and Layout newspaper.

The journalists, Emelia Ennin and Esther Awuah, who received a plaque each and citations for being the best journalists in Environment and Small and Micro Scale Enterprises respectively, were among the 33 persons who were honoured at the awards night.

Akosua, the unsurpassed satirist cartoonist, picked the newly instituted award for cartoons, sponsored by the renowned industrialist Akenten Appiah-Menka of Apino soap fame.
In addition, each award winner will receive a laptop computer.

A reporter from Metropolitan Television, Samuel Agyemang, defied all odds to become the youngest journalist ever to win the coveted Journalist of the of the Year award for 2009.

For his prize, Mr. Agyemang, 29, received a professional enhancement package of $28,000 equivalent to GH¢42, 000 from Unilever Ghana Limited, as well as a visit to the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) in Washington DC in the United States, to have attachments at some renowned media houses, depending on his area of specialty.

It was all excitement at the Banquet Hall of State House in Accra, as the GJA celebrated its 15th awards night under the theme: “Unethical journalism and corruption in the media: A danger to democracy.”

Journalists who thronged the venue had the opportunity to celebrate the night with Vice President John Dramani Mahama, Aidan White of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and a host of other dignitaries. They were treated to sumptuous music by Abrantie Amakye Dede and his Apollo High Kings band.

In all, 33 awards were given to journalists and some media houses, while five individuals who have contributed in the flourishing of the media landscape including Mr. Aidan White, were given honorary awards.

The award winners are; for News Reporting, TV – Portia Solomon (TV3); News Reporting, Print – Francis Tuffour (Ghanaian Times); News Reporting, Radio – Evans Mensah (Joy FM); Features, Radio - Kingsley Obeng Kyere (GBC); Features, TV – Samuel Agyemang (Metro TV); Features, Print – Doreen Allotey (Daily Graphic); and Investigative Reporting - Peter Dela Tenge (Metro TV).

Others were, Sports Reporting – Maurice Quansah – (Daily Graphic); Arts, Entertainment and Domestic Tourism - Kofi Akpabli – Freelance; Photo Journalism – Gabriel Ahiabor (Daily Graphic); Business, Finance and Economic Reporting – Edward Nyarko (GTV); Small and Micro Scale Enterprises, Health Reporting – Lucy Adoma Yeboah – (Daily Graphic); HIV/AIDS Reporting – Gertrude Anka – (Ghanaian Observer); Development Journalism for advancing MDGs - Portia Solomon - (TV3); and Rural Reporting – Samuel Akapule – (GNA).

The rest were; Crime and Court Reporting – Kingsley Hope - (Ghanaian Times); Hygiene and Sanitation – Dzifa Azumah (GNA); Disability Reporting – Issah Shaibu – (GBC); Telecommunications – Samuel Dowuona (GNA); Anti-Corruption – Anas Aremeyaw Anas (New Crusading Guide); Education - Isabella Owusu-Oppong – (GTV); Columnist of the Year – Vicky Wirekoh Andoh – (Daily Graphic); Cartoonist – Akosua – (Daily Guide); Best Layout and Design newspaper – (Daily Graphic); Best Rural Radio Station – (Radio Peace -Winneba); Human Rights - Sunrise Radio (Koforidua); Democracy and Peace – (Citi FM); Best Radio Programme in Akan – Wo haw ne sen? (Peace FM); Best Radio Programme in Dagbani – (Diamond FM, Tamale); and Best Radio Programme (Talk) - Kusum Gboo Obonu FM.

Vice President Mahama, who stood in for President John Evans Atta Mills as the guest of honour, commended the GJA for recognizing that there are still unethical practices and corruption in the media.

“The fact that the GJA has chosen this theme means that the media is willing to be accountable to the people with whom the ultimate power rests,” he said.

He cited misreporting, poor language, mercenary journalism and lack of objectivity as some of the challenges that the media needs to overcome and added that there is the need for journalists to close their ranks and weed out charlatans from among them.

The Vice President also complained about the rate at which the media displays photographs of dead persons and others he considered obscene and also noted that the serial calling phenomenon was making it impossible for the public to judge what he called “real public opinion.

“If we want to purge our journalism of the negative tendencies, then we must be able to discuss issues affecting the profession. So much is expected from the media. Our work should be fair, credible and responsible.”

He also bemoaned what he called “partisanship in our public discour

From Boardroom To Bedroom

Offices, homes, hotels and virtually all places people spend their time require some form of furniture. Chairs, tables, desks, beds, wardrobe have gradually become a part of life.

Currently, the furniture industry is recording higher sales and observers think it is being driven by the craze for imported items and sheer ostentation.

Visit to workshops and showrooms in some parts of Accra revealed that though locally made furniture is much cheaper than imports of the same standard, most buyers both Ghanaian indigenes and foreigners resident in the country prefer the latter.

Local furniture dealers in the country, in recent times, are facing a major competition from importers despite the latter’s high prices.

Ghana has experienced the mushrooming of furniture marts, showrooms, centres and workshops in the recent past with most fittings imported from foreign countries.

Whereas furniture importers sell a sofa set for between GH¢700 and GH¢3000, the local version goes for as low as GH¢400 and GH¢1000. The main difference---quality and design.

A recent survey by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has revealed that 78 percent of furniture on the Ghanaian market are imported, leaving only 32 percent to the local manufacturer.

The AGI study reports on how three sectors could be made efficient and productive. It noted that there were many problems facing the industry such as high domestic resource cost, high cost of doing business in Ghana as well as the period of registration and starting a business among others.

At the showroom of one importer in Accra, who did not want to be named, BUSINESS GUIDE learnt that local furniture makers were losing out “because they are not creative enough in designs”.

This foreign importer added that the locals were not emphasising quality and the finishing that was typical of the superior sheen of quality evident in imported furniture.

“We are conscious of environmental matters, the reason why our products are made from synthetic materials which are not only more durable than wood but also easier to work on,” he explained.

This dealer echoed the opinion of many players in the industry, saying that “the difference in quality is just too glaring with goods that pass certification, failing the test of time miserably.”

This, he says, has made many consumers insist on the best, in spite of the higher price tag on the imported units.

And there is another factor to explain this trend toward imported goods. Ghana, unlike the Asian exporters of furniture, lacks a well entrenched policy on environmental protection and the best the Government has done is to clamp down on logging, forcing practitioners in the timber sector to import the vital raw materials from countries like China, Dubai, India, South Korea, US, Togo and Malaysia among others.

The number of investors in the business has seen an upward trend but the more established players are calling for more stringent quality control with widespread concern that unscrupulous people pass low quality pieces as high-end furniture, eroding consumer-confidence in the process.

Prince Kwasi Diabo, General Manager of Agorwu Furnitures, is worried about the lax policy that is making the regulation of the sector difficult.

“There are mushroom workshops and furniture centres springing up on daily basis. It is like everyone is operating on his own, God for us all,” he says.

In an interview at the Dodowa Branch of the company that has become popular for its use of well seasoned tropical wood in making all kinds of furniture from the board room to the bedroom, Mr. Diabo pointed to some of the products on display and said “Look at the furnishing; quality is our benchmark but the importation of foreign furniture is affecting our share of the market and perception is swaying people as they think everything from a foreign market is of high quality.

“The common practice is where a dealer is also operating a workshop which is nowhere near the vicinity of the showroom and then pushes off products from his workshop alongside the imported ones, labelling all ‘imported’ ”.

This is the worst spectre haunting dealers with most advising that a customer should insist on quality and do their shopping diligently, observing keenly the kind of material in use and the finishing quality of the product.

However, Mr Paul Nyavor of Kpogas Standard Furniture Company Limited, where 40 percent of products on display in the showrooms are locally made while the rest are imported, says that products have to be labelled properly and the customer properly advised as there are customers for both the locally assembled and imported products.

Imported furniture has been in the market since the beginning of the country’s history with the advent of the Vono beds among other furniture equipment.

The dealers are however quick to add that contrary to popular belief, they do not target the jet set of the community but they serve a cross section of the market, including the low end group of society.

“We import some furniture and assemble some ourselves with different customer targets in mind,” said Mr. Nyavor, who agrees that the prices of imported products are more expensive than local ones.

The peculiar problems that his company faces are competition, power outage, and high cost of producing local furniture because of high cost of inputs (wood and abrasives).

With optimism, Mr. Nyavor foresees the future of the furniture manufacturing industry in Ghana to be more lucrative and “will continue to attract more competitors” as the domestic market is not yet saturated. “More houses, offices are being built and people change their furniture and will continue to change their furniture.

On the other hand, the influx of foreign furniture is not the only problem that the local manufacturers have to contend with; shortage of skilled labour, lack of raw material, obsolete machinery, financial constraint and the lenient government policy among others also form part of the headache of operators.

“The market itself is facing serious problems,” said Executive Director of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Prof. Cletus Dordonu, Chief Executive Officer of Cledot Consult, said when he spoke on a TV magazine programme, “The Business Advocate” on Ghana Television to discuss the findings of a survey on the furniture industry.

Prof. Dordonu emphasizes that the patronage of locally manufactured furniture would come with a lot of benefits such as the creation of employment that will lead to the reduction of crime.

He admits that China, Dubai and India where importers now tend to look at, were not Ghana’s traditional trading partners “but with the development and expansion of their industry, Ghanaian traders look in that direction now”.

Mr. Nyavor thinks as the forests deplete, “companies will have to resort to bamboo and plastic material. Kpogas has a vast plantation to fall on in future as a strategic plan.”

For Agorwu Furnitures, by combining wood and metal, “we are not only reducing the use of wood but also giving our clients a variety to choose from”, said the Company’s General Manager.

Lack of education on why people should consume locally manufactured products is also a problem that needs to be looked at as quickly as possible. There is the need to create more awareness so that Ghanaians can consume what they produce.

Government is being blamed as in other countries subsidies are given to manufacturers who later export but in Ghana the opposite pertains and the local industry has to borrow from the banks at a high interest rate.

Government is therefore being called upon to reduce lending rate; but will the banks be able to do this in these times of global economic crisis?

Local raw material is expensive, which makes cost of production high and the supply of raw material is not regular and this makes manufacturers unable to meat customers demand.

“Sometimes, you have an order but you are not able to meet it because your suppliers have failed to deliver but foreign supply is very reliable,” said one player who combines local and imported furniture.

As the government is being called upon to come to the aid of the manufacturers of local furniture, the operators in the sector should also note that consumers intend to buy their products without compromising on the quality of service.

The Cry Of Mining Communities

Operators in the extractive industry, particularly mining companies, have always been criticised for contributing to the destruction of the environment and neglecting those affected by their operations.

Although products of mining form the foundation of human life as areas such as Agriculture, science and technology, manufacturing, construction, aviation, medicine, arts, communications, transportation and consumer goods depend on minerals and metals, the industry that produces the raw material for these is listed among the most destructive.

For the indigenes and farming communities mining affects, the activities of the extractive industry endanger their well-being.

Lucy Adutwumwaa, a resident of Asutifi district of Brong Ahafo, points to cracks in her building which she attributes to the activities such as blasting undertaken by the mining company in her community.

She claims she cannot drink from the river which is the only source of drinking water any more.

“I now have to buy expensive “pure water” (sachet water) and this, among other things, has made life difficult for me and my family.”

Many communities facing these challenges have organized against the companies by forming local, national, and international activist groups where they share information and work together to stop the harm that extractive industries cause.

In many cases, they have succeeded in stopping the mining or reducing its impact, though it takes time to achieve any results.

“The perception is that these extractive companies which are mostly transnational companies are in business to milk their host countries dry” Dr. Joyce Aryee, Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines says, hinting that most people believe such companies are only interested in extracting the non-renewable resources, repatriating the huge profits and leaving the host country poor.

The minerals, metals, fuel, and timber that extractive industries seek are very profitable.

Ghana is endowed with minerals such as gold, diamond, manganese, bauxite as well as other industrial ones like salt, limestone and kaolin that are exploited on small-scale.

Gold accounts for the majority of mineral exports from Ghana yet residents of mining communities on countless occasions have petitioned the Ministry of Environment and Science, and the Ministry of Natural Resources to intervene “but to no avail,” observes Richard Adjei-Poku, Executive Director of Livelihood and Environment Ghana, an advocacy group.
For Nana Philip Prempeh of Kenyasi, “the mining companies are simply cheats.”

But is it true that mining companies only destroy the environment? PriceWaterhouseCoopers says mining companies are contributing “extensively” to national development.

However, the audit firm claims these contributions are not usually recognized.

To ascertain the value of the contributions of mining companies in Ghana, PriceWaterhouseCoopers conducted a survey: “Total Tax Contribution- A study of the economic contribution mining companies make to public finances.”

It recognized mining companies as important elements in the creation of wealth and development of countries in which they operate.

George Kwatia, Tax Partner at the PriceWaterhouseCoopers, affirms that the contribution of the mining sector is usually not recognized.

The companies that were covered under the survey reported a total turnover of $62.9 billion of which $10.1 billion went to various governments while $6 billion went to employees as wages and salaries.

Corporate income tax formed 40 per cent of all taxes and contributions in addition to other non-income taxes comprising royalties, VAT and infrastructure funding.

An amount equivalent to 15.3 per cent out of the total turnover of mining companies went to governments.

“Mining companies have over the years consistently maintained the position as the highest gross foreign exchange earner as well as providing jobs in the country,” says Dr. Aryee.

“It is good to have such surveys which indicate that we are not being ripped off,” she tells the surveyors.

Mineral royalties increased from GH¢1.9 million in 1990 to about GH¢90 million in 2009 and mineral royalties accounted for about 94 per cent of state royalties during the same period.

The mining industry in 2009 also paid an amount of GH¢125 million as corporate tax while GH¢1.7 billion was collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from mining companies.

To Dr. Aryee, fiscal imposts alone do not reflect the total value to the mining sector of the country as there are other indirect contributions such as foreign direct investment and secondary industries that also offer employment, and pay statutory taxes that positively contribute to national development.

Since the introduction of the Minerals and Mining Law, PNDC Law 153 of 1986, Dr. Aryee hints the country’s mining industry has recorded phenomenal growth as it continues to attract huge investments.

Records at the Minerals Commission indicate that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the mining sector increased from $6 million in 1983 to $427 million in 2007.

The Mining industry in Ghana has seen a phenomenal growth especially after the Government's Economic Recovery Programme in 1983, due to the large investment inflows into the sector.

The friendly climate and the continuing high gold price in recent times, according to experts, guarantees greater profits for operators in the industry.

Yet to the mining companies, their full profitability will be realized if key challenges facing the industry such as encroachment of ‘galamsey’ miners on mining concessions, high import taxes and high interest rates are addressed.

Players in the industry who want to remain unnamed claim they continue to strive to add value to the communities in which they operate.

They claim they are at the forefront of the corporate social responsibility agenda in their host communities: Apart from their statutory contributions, they voluntarily provide schools, libraries, hospitals, electricity, potable water, roads, housing, sanitation facilities and alternative livelihood projects.

For the Chief Executive of the Chamber of Mines, Corporate Social Responsibility “is not an option but a necessity that enables the mining company to plough back some of its earnings to raise the quality of life of the communities.”

Social licence, with which players in the industry operate, rests in the hands of the host communities, and that to ensure a continuous renewal, there is the need to honour Corporate Social Responsibility roles to residents of mining communities as well as Ghanaians in general.

The Chamber therefore sees mining as a catalyst for national development since it engenders positive multipliers whose effects ripple through the whole economy.

Dr. Aryee suggests government and the mining industry should craft deliberate policies, plans and strategies to ensure that the potential for mining to contribute to national development.

“It is our expectation that the Government will also increase the quantum of mineral royalties that goes to the mining communities.”

Through the fiscal receipts the state derives from the sector as well as the developmental imperatives which accrue to the country, anyone can say mining has contributed enormously to the growth of the Ghanaian economy, but residents of mining communities who bear the brunt of the negative implications of the activities of the companies hold a different view.

Dr. Darcy White, Tax Partner at the PriceWaterhouseCoopers has therefore recommended that mining companies should consider if there could be business benefits from being more transparent in communicating their tax affairs to their stakeholders.

News From Ghana: No Market For Illegal Timber

http://businessguideghana.com/ghanabusinessspecial-report/8008-illegal-timber-has-no-market.html

No Market For Illegal Timber

Tight rules are being instituted to curb illegal timber trade in Ghana as some countries want to stop the destruction of forest by making it a criminal offence to trade in such timber.

This would protect the forest cover of these nations and ensure that foreign exchange goes directly to government.

Illegal logging is a major cause of deforestation in Ghana, contributing to the current global climate change.

Illegal logging causes governments to lose billions of dollars in revenue, environmental damage, promotes corruption and undermines the rule of law and good governance.

It retards sustainable development in some of the poorest countries of the world. Developed countries contribute to these problems by importing timber and wood products without ensuring that they are legally sourced.

Over the years, producer and consumer countries have paid increasing attention to illegal logging. The illegal timber business is taking a toll on Ghana, as well as the forest reserves of other African countries.

Over the years, producers and consumers of tropi¬cal timber have recognized that they have a joint responsibility to eradicate illegal logging to protect the environment.

The European Union is Ghana’s most valuable mar¬ket, accounting for 43 percent of the value of total exports and 33 percent of total volume.

Timber users in developed nations have been blamed for contributing to the environmental challenges of developing countries, as illegal logging has over the years been identified as a major driver of deforestation and climate change.

Importation of illegal logged timber is banned by most countries, but there are regular reports of such prohibited products on the market.

Previous attempts including the strengthening of environmental laws, establishment of task force to go after illegal timber loggers, who are usually chain saw operators, have not really stopped the supply chain.

It is reported that as much as 20 to 40 percent of global industrial wood production is from illegal sources, but the European Union (EU) is doing its part to ensure that illegally harvested timber and timber products are removed from the EU market.

The latest move to take illegal timber off the market was collaboration with key timber consumers of the EU who realize that they have an obligation to lead the world in fighting against the illegal timber trade.

To this end, the government of Ghana and EU are working together to ensure that timber exported out of the country is legally harvested.

This would assure European consumers that timber from Ghana is from legal sources.

Ghana has therefore signed a historic agree¬ment with the EU aimed at ensuring that only legally harvested timber from the country are exported to the EU mar¬ket.

The Forest Law Enforcement Gover¬nance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement was signed in the European Council in Brussels by Ghana’s Head of Mission to the European Union, Nana Bema Kumi, European Delegation Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas and Sweden’s Minister for Ag¬riculture, Eskil Erlandsson.

The agreement provides a legal frame¬work and monitoring system aimed at en¬suring that all timber imports from Ghana have been acquired, harvested, transported and exported in accordance with the law in Ghana.

The deal establishes a national legality assurance system for all commercial wood and wood products, which would also cover timber and timber products that are sold to non European markets as well as on the domestic market.

Ghana decided to enter into a voluntary partnership agreement to demonstrate its commitment to good forest governance as a means to maintain access to valued markets.

Ghana expects the agreement to help enhance its reforms in the forestry sector to ensure that the forest sector contributes to poverty alleviation and promotes investment in the sector to ensure the future viability of the industry.

The agreement was signed after a special committee set up by the EU proposed financial penalties for exporters who damage the environment.

These penalties, it revealed, must represent at least five times the value of the timber products obtained by committing a serious infringement, adding that they would increase in the event of repeat infringements.

With this agreement in place, all operators are required to provide basic information about the source of their products, countries as well as the forest of origin and through a traceability system.
They would be required to identify the operator who supplied the timber and the consumer.

Mr. Dimas, the European Delegation Environmental Commissioner, congratulated Ghana for being the first country to sign a voluntary partnership agreement with the EU.

He was sure that the deal would help improve forest governance in Ghana to ensure that timber imported from the country is not linked to illegal logging.

The implementation of the agreement would be provided through a multi-donor programme supported by the European Commission, France, The Netherlands, U.K and the World Bank.

Karel De Gucht, European Delegation Commission for Development and Humanitarian Aid explained that “this agreement is a major step forward for both Ghana and the EU to ensure that only legally harvested timber from Ghana enters the European market.

“This agreement is a real example of how partnership can lead to good governance practices to benefit both sides and also set an example for other countries to follow,” he said.

Under these agreements, exporting countries would develop systems to verify the legality of timber exports.

The EU would support them to improve systems, which adhere to le¬gal compliance.

A number of timber producing countries are currently negoti¬ating such agreements with the European Delegation.

The first shipment of timber products from Ghana, which are licensed un¬der the scheme, is expected at the end of 2010.

Customs officials in EU member states would ensure that only timber shipment that meets the legal requirements would be allowed into the market.

Ghana and EU view transparency and information disclosure as vital to ensure accountability, increase aware¬ness and establish credibility of systems established un¬der the agreement.

The two parties would produce annual public reports to review the effectiveness of actions under the agreement.

Successful implementation of the agreement would require political commitment and investment in a number of areas, as well as the strengthening of regulatory systems.