The Government through the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has stated that the Ministry has not granted any concession for the harvesting of Rosewood or any other forest product within the Kalakpa Resources Reserve.
In his answer to Parliamentary question asked by Member of Parliament, (MP) for Ho West, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah on ‘whether the ministry has given concession to any organization or individuals to harvest rosewood in the Kalakpa Game Reserve in the Ho West Adaklu Constituencies,’ the Sector Minister, Kwaku Asomah Kyeremeh confirmed that “currently, no concession has been granted to any individual or organization within the Reserve”.
According to him, the Reserve is a wildlife conservation area or a protected area currently under the management of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission.
“Accordingly, no logging operation is permitted in the Reserve”, he added.
The Minister however, noted that, “there are a number of illegal settler communities within the Reserve, such as Fosime and Dzroade (Ho West), Vanakope and Dokpo (Adaklu) and Avetakpoe (Central Tongu), which have not been evacuated and resettled outside the reserve since its creation in 1975.
Some of the members of such illegal settler communities, carried out illegal logging of Rosewood in the Reserve and were arrested and prosecuted by the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission”.
Mr. Kyeremeh revealed that, “The Rosewood billets were then seized and later auctioned to McDon Company to evacuate them from the Reserve and the appropriate revenue was duly paid”.
Story by Edzorna Francis Mensah
