There are calls on government by residents of Bawiesebe and Civil Society Organizations to immediately deploy security personnel to the Wa East District of the Upper West Region which is the exit point and hotspot zone for rosewood activities to monitor the illegal movement of rosewoods in that parts of the district during dusk to dawn. This is because as the onset of bush fire rosewood loggers are making ways to move out the lying logs that were been abandoned after a government ban on harvesting, processing, transportation and exportation of rosewood in the country in March this year.
In a monitoring visit and following a tip-off undertaken by Jaksally Development Organization led by Jeremiah Seidu and a native of Bawiesebe Mr. Ayanah Mohammed Abdullah about some rosewoods that were been packed beside the route linking Tantanla – Kundugu Yala on Friday 15th November 2019 last week have been transported.
Residents of kundugu, a community in the Wa East district alleged that rosewood loggers have started making ways to evacuate some lying logs that were been abandoned between Gbantala and Kundugu.
They said some bush burnings have started taking place in order to pave way for the trucks to be able to move.
Wesaygh.com can confirm that portions of the route linking kundugu and Gbantala are been burnt and three shea trees been cut down to pave way for the route.
Mr Jeremiah Seidu who is appalled about the development is urging government and the Upper West Regional Minister who is the Chairman of Regional Security Council to collaboratively get his MMDAs, especially Tumu Municipal and Wa East Districts to immediately put security checks into the areas that have been identified as hotspot areas. He mentioned Kundugu, Holumuni, Gbantala, Yala, Funsi, Bawiesebe and many others.
He said loggers are now doing their operations at night and therefore strict security patrol on Kundugu-Funsi-Wahabu camp Wa road and Kundugu- Tantanla-Yagaba-Walewale road should be enforced in order to mop up criminals.
There is the need for community vigilante groups, district joint monitoring teams and military patrols at night to curb the menace he said.
Mr Jeremiah believes that an immediate halt of all permits in the area whether pawpaw, teak or whatsoever should be stopped once it is wood adding that proper management systems be put in place in order to curb rosewood canker in that parts of the region.
Since the ban on rosewood on March 11, 2019, by the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, rosewood harvesting have not stopped and will not stop in the region if illegal loggers are claiming to have permits for pawpaw.
Mr Jeremiah urged the Upper West Regional Minister to totally ban any form of wood harvesting, salvaging, transportation, processing, and exports in the region which also form part of the savannah ecological zone.
He blamed the forestry officers in the UWR and North Eastern Region for doing little in the wake of a ban because people are still processing and transporting rosewood including pawpaw.
“But before this menace can stop as a CSO I recommend the massive transfer of all the FC staff in the Upper West and North Eastern Region should be immediately transferred for being complicit for these nights activities and pawpaw business which fuels rosewood that is been harvested and transported indiscriminately in the midst of ministers ban” he stated.