Samuel Abu Jinapor, Lands and Natural Resources Minister
Ghana has seen a considerable increase in the quantity of timber shipped and income earned from the domestic timber market over the previous three years.
According to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, Ghana had shipped 248,657.909 cubic meters of timber valued about €133,000,000.00 to the foreign market as of October 2021.
A total of 392,117.75 cubic meters of timber wood species were traded domestically while a total of 526,613.29 cubic meters of timber was exported to the international timber market between 2019 and 2020.
During the same time period, the volume was valued over €266,000,000.00, while the domestic market accounted for 678,406.90 cubic meters.
Despite the fact that the data revealed significant progress in the timber sector, Mr Jinapor said that Ghana has the capability and aptitude to do more.
He was speaking to reporters after introducing two cutting-edge digital application platforms for the Forestry Commission in Akyawkrom, in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
Technological infrastructure
Mr Jinapor said that the Ministry had recently commissioned a research aimed at revitalising the timber industry in order to enable the country reclaim its rightful place on the global timber market.
He stated that Ghana’s success on the international timber market had been hampered by a lack of contemporary and adequate technology.
“The technological infrastructure for accessing the international market and attracting the requisite investment demand a level of sophistication that yesterday’s systems and norms can no longer respond to. We must, therefore, innovate constantly, and keep pace with the technological advancements necessary to access the international market,” he said.
Also, Mr Abu Jinapor indicated that the Ministry and its agencies had increased their efforts to adopt an aggressive digitisation agenda, which are yielding positive results.
They include the Minerals Commission’s online processing of mineral rights applications and the tracking of all earth-moving equipment and machineries used in mining so that the position of this equipment could be determined in real time and that it was utilised in accordance with mining legislation.
The Lands Commission, for its part, has transferred some of its services online. They include searches, allowing users to do searches from the comfort of their own homes.
The Commission is also launching a digitisation programme to help support effective and efficient land administration by digitising all of its documents.
The Lands Minister believes if these measures are properly executed, they will increase the performance efficiency of all agencies for the benefit of all stakeholders in the sector. He requested assistance in achieving these objectives.
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