SEIZURE of 4000 tons of charcoal bought from Ghana, from a Togolaise business woman, at the Lome port last week Tuesday, have triggered off a row over possible misapplication of the ECOWAS protocol on free trade. The seizure was ordered by a Togolese Minister.

The Togolaise Minister for Environment and Forestry Resources, General Zoumarou Gnofame, ordered the seizure of 400 bags of charcoal at the Lome port meant for export to Italy and Belgium.

Recently, Togo imposed a ban on the export of charcoal, which is a source of energy for many local households for heating water and cooking purposes.

Minister Gnofame said that the ban was part of the strategy to protect Togo's environment from further degradation through the indiscriminate felling of trees for the production of charcoal for some Sahelian countries.

He said the strategy also forms part of measures aimed at stopping desertification as well as the preservation of the country's dwindling forestry resources.

But the Togolese minister's decision has not found favour with pro-ECOWAS integration advocates in Lome, following the claims by the would-be exporter that her produce originates from neighbouring Ghana.

Pro-ECOWAS advocates who spoke on condition of anonymity in Lome said Minister Zoumarou Gnofame may be provoking an ECOWAS diplomatic row if the claims by the owner of the charcoal that the commodity was produced in Ghana turns out to be valid.

ECOWAS advocates quoted extensively from the ECOWAS Protocol on the free movements of persons, goods and free trade.

According to them, the ECOWAS Protocol on free trade allows a certain category of finished goods manufactured in the sub-region free entry into territories of member states without let or hindrance.

ECOWAS advocates argued that the exempted goods include finished products which do not have a certain percentage of foreign components in their manufacture.

They said charcoal falls into this category of exempted goods, including wood carvings, artefacts, traditional fabrics and textiles.

"In this context, the seizure of the 4,000 tonnes of charcoal by the Togolese minister could be tantamount to a flagrant violation of the ECOWAS Protocol on free trade," an ECOWAS integration advocate said.

However, Togolese Environment Minister, General Zoumarou Gnofame, defended his action by dismissing the claims by the exporter that the consignment of impounded charcoal originates from Ghana.

Minister Gnofame described the claims as fraudulent. He said that subsequent investigations revealed that the documents covering the consignment of charcoal were forged.

The Togolese minister wondered why the exporter chose the port of Lome for her commercial activities when neighbouring Ghana equally boasts of two major sea ports at Tema and Takoradi. Ghana Embassy officials in logo preferred sidestepped the controversy, saying "no comment," when contacted about the issue.

However, reliable sources disclosed that Ghana has also banned the export of charcoal, as well as other unprocessed timber products, and round logs, but this is yet to be confirmed from Ghana. Togolese Minister Zoumarou Gnofame insisted that the owner of the 400 bags of charcoal will pay a penalty of 4 million CFA Francs, or 9,000 US Dollars.

"The consignment of charcoal will be confiscated to the state to serve as a deterrent to others who want to flout our laws," the minister said.

Togo is currently engaged in a war against desertiflcation and the degradation of her dwindling forestry resources.

As a result, the government recruited over 350 Environment and Forestry Guards to police the country's endangered forestry and wild game reserves.

"President Eyadema is a believer in ECOWAS and Togo will not do anything to undermine its Protocols," a Togolese source assured.