Forestry staff warned against following ‘orders from above’
Water and Environment minister Ephraim Kamuntu (3rd L) cuts a cake with National Forestry Authority board members at the NFA head offices in Kampala on Tuesday. PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA.
What you need to know:
Directive. Environment minister Ephraim Kamuntu says the orders never exist and directs forestry officials to arrest people who hide under such orders to destroy forests.
Kampala.
Environment minister Ephraim Kamuntu has warned National Forest Authority (NFA) staff against obeying people who hide under the pretext of executing ‘orders from above’ to ferry timber from government forest reserves.
The minister said encroachers have for long used names of people in key government positions such the as President, army commanders and ministers to dupe NFA staff not to impound illegal timber.
“I am the final authority on matters of forests in Uganda. If there is any person claiming to be ‘above,’ refer him to me. Otherwise, I am directing you to arrest all these culprits unless when they produce a letter from a person who assigned them,” Prof Kamuntu said at NFA offices on Tuesday.
New board sworn in
The minister made the directive while officiating at the swearing in ceremony of the six-member NFA board.
He said forestry, just like oil and gas, agriculture, manufacturing and tourism is ranked among the country’s nucleus economic sectors although it’s facing threats from encroachers. The minister said there are very good regulations regarding forestry issues but have not been well implemented.
NFA executive director Michael Mugisa said the board has been appointed at the time they wanted it most to help in guiding implementation of various strategies.
“There is a great task lying ahead of us but we need to be strong and work as a team,” he said.
Prof Gershom Onyango Onyai, who is the new board chairman, said this is the time to lift NFA from where the former board left it to greater heights.
Some of the new board members include; Prof Maggie Kigozi, Mr Dickson C Langoya, Mr Stephen Bagonza Mugumya and Mr David Ebong.
OUR FORESTS IN DANGER
Each year, the number of trees cut down in the country increases in number. If there is no proper plan to save forests, Uganda will find herself exposed to more drought and floods. In June 2008, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) released a report which showed that Uganda had more than five million hectares of forest cover in 1990. By 2005, only 3.5 million hectares (8.6 million acres) had remained.
The report warned that if deforestation continues at that rate, Uganda will have lost all its forested land by 2050. Visits to selected central forest reserves show destruction of large covers of forest area. It is estimated that the forest cover is being lost at a rate of 92,000 hectares per annum. The 2010 Biomass Report, shows that forest cover loss was highest in Kyenjojo District.
