Charcoal business booms in Afram Plains
In spite of stringent measures to discourage charcoal burning in the Kwahu Afram Plains, the charcoal business continues to boom as a result of fierce resistance from the burners, dealers and transporters against moves to control the business.
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They accuse the Forestry Commission of deliberately imposing hefty levies on the production of charcoal, citing the case where depending on the size of the cargo vehicle, they were being charged GH¢150 to GH¢250.
Those in the business consider the levy as outrageous, wondering why the assemblies which collect such levies for developmental purposes should collect only GH¢ 40 and GH¢ 60 while the Forestry Commission takes the rest.
Accusations
The Public Relations Officer of the Cargo Transport Union in the Afram Plains, Mr Yaw Adjei Danso, accused the Forestry Commission of targeting those in the charcoal business, insisting, “We only burn charcoal from trees that obstruct us in our farming activities and not the big trees which serve as shades for our crops.”
“If it is deforestation, then the commission should focus its attention on loggers who fell the big trees and in the process of carting them destroy every plant, including crops on their way,” he said.
He contended that it was not because charcoal burning was lucrative but its proceeds were to supplement income from their farms, explaining that a bag of charcoal was sold at GH¢15 but with the current arrangement it would even come down by GH¢ 0.50p.
Charcoal burning a threat to environment
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Kwahu Afram Plains South, Mr Ibrahim Issaka, says that charcoal burning remains a major threat to conserving the forest.
He said the activities of charcoal burners were destructive as they cut down trees indiscriminately, including commercial trees such as the shea and dawadawa trees.
Why the levies
Mr Issaka explained that the levies complained of were to enable the Forestry Commission to grow more seedlings for distribution free of charge, to interested persons.
He said since it was difficult for the Commission to get the individual charcoal burners to tax, it decided to levy GH¢ 0.50 on every bag of charcoal loaded on a truck, “and it is what adds up to the amount they are mentioning.”
Mr Issaka explained that the said levies were not imposed on only charcoal burners in the Afram Plains, but nationwide and so the request by the burners, transporters and dealers in the district to reduce them would not work.
He, therefore, debunked claims that the commission was targeting charcoal burners in the Afram Plains, explaining that the agitation was baseless.
Insufficient education
The DCE, however, conceded that the education before the implementation was not enough, because the commission met with only the drivers, hoping that they would carry the message to the burners and the buyers.
“Unfortunately, this was not done, because the commission thought the drivers would actually pass the message to the dealers and the burner,” he explained, adding that the purpose of the levy was actually to deter them in order to save the environment.
Forestry Commission
Corroborating what the DCE said, the Assistant District Manager of the Forestry Commission at Donkorkrom, Mr Francis Kasaare, said the district was only implementing directives from the head office and could, therefore, not be blamed for deliberately imposing levies on them.
Forum
He admitted that there was not enough time to educate stakeholders on the policy before implementing the directive but added that when the directive came, a stakeholder forum was held during which all the charcoal burners, dealers and transporters were invited.
Mr Kasaare, therefore, did not understand why a section of the stakeholders was still agitating, adding that those levies were national and not only for Afram Plains.