The Forestry Commission is collaborating with Tropenbos International, a forest development organization, to develop policy recommendations to enhance the production and trade of legal timber on the domestic market. Mr Alhassan Attah, Executive Director of the Timber Industry Development Division of the Commission, said when completed, the recommendations would be submitted to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for implementation. He indicated that the overall objective of the recommendations was informed by the Commission’s commitment to create an enabling environment for an efficient wood-based industry, by ensuring that, more legal timber was put on the domestic market, whiles discouraging the trade in illegal timber. Mr Attah was speaking at the first anniversary celebration of the Sokoban Wood Village in Kumasi. It was under the theme “Sustaining the Forest through Strategic Management”. The Executive Director described the theme as appropriate since it fell within the Forest Sector Development and Strategic Plan, which aims at ensuring an efficient wood-based industry with emphasis on tertiary processing and value addition. He said in the coming months the Wood Industries Training Centre will work with the leadership of the Village to develop training programmes, to meet the specific needs of small-scale carpenters, in particular. Mr Attah urged the carpenters to take advantage of all skills upgrading and training activities that would be provided at the Centre to help add value to their products. Mr Samuel Sarpong, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), said as managers of the wood enclave, his outfit would continue to ensure good management for the benefit of the workers. Togbe Mawufeame Fugah, President of the Anloga Carpenters Union, thanked the French Government for its immense support during the re-location of the carpenters to the village, saying the Wood Village Consult, an advocacy organization, would continue to explore avenues to enhance the industry. He said the Consult had planned a number of training activities to inject efficiency in their work and appealed to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to be supportive in their efforts, to train members in snail and grass-cutter rearing and also plant trees along water bodies in the area. Togbe Fugah said he was of the conviction that the KMA would support them by providing more sheds and operation space, to help compel those left at the Anloga old site to the Village. Source: GNA