Takoradi, Aug. 12, GNA - The Sekondi-Takoradi Lumber Sellers Association on Tuesday suggested to the Ministry of Lands and Forestry to consider registering all chain saw operators. The Association said by registering them they would be brought under one umbrella so that their activities could be effectively monitored and controlled.

Mr Gariba Mohammed, Chairman of the Association, made the suggestion in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Kokompe, near Takoradi on Tuesday.

He said after the registration they should be allocated with timber concessions and be made to process lumber solely for the local market. Mr Mohamed said more lumber would be available on the local markets at reasonable prices to meet the pockets of every Ghanaian. ''Such an arrangement would check the indiscriminate depletion of the country's forest by chain saw operators.''

On the Ministry's policy that sawmills should allocate 20 per cent of their lumber production to the local market, Mr Mohammed said the policy although well intended, "is only good on paper because the sawmills have not been complying with the directive and nobody is responsible to ensure that the sawmills comply with the directive". He said the failure of the sawmills to comply with the Ministry's directive has been the result of acute shortage of lumber on the local markets.

Mr Mohammed alleged that some few sawmills that tried to comply with the directive supplied only "rejected lumber" which were not suitable for the manufacture of furniture or for building projects except for firewood.

''The sawmills cannot supply 20 cent of their lumber to the local markets since they are finding it difficult to procure timber concessions.'' 12 Aug. 03