By Hannah Awadzi
Accra, June 19, GNA – The Ghana Timber Millers Organisation (GTMO) has strongly condemned the recent vandalization of the Forestry Commission’s Timber Monitoring Check Point at Babatokuma in the Bono East Region, describing the incident as a criminal act that undermines Ghana’s timber regulatory framework.
The attack, which occurred on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, left state property destroyed and Forestry Commission staff injured while on duty.
A statement from GTMO copied to the Ghana News Agency expressed shock and disappointment that members of a timber trade association could resort to violence over unsubstantiated allegations that the checkpoint staff were sabotaging their businesses.
Dr. Kwame Asamoah Adam, Chief Executive Officer of GTMO, said the actions of the perpetrators amounted to “a blatant disregard for the laws of this country under democratic governance.”
He stressed that grievances in the timber trade must be addressed through established legal and policy channels, not through violence.
Over the past two decades, the Forestry Commission, in collaboration with timber trade associations including GTMO, has intensified efforts to curb illegal logging and timber trade.
One of the key interventions has been the expansion of timber tracking and monitoring activities, which require checkpoints where transporters must present documentation to verify the legality of their timber.
The statement said while acknowledging that bureaucratic delays sometimes cause vehicles to spend long hours at checkpoints, GTMO insisted that such frustrations can never justify the destruction of state property or harm to workers.
“No serious business operator who wants to run a sustainable business will ever think of seeking redress in the manner that was embarked on at Babatokuma,” the statement noted.
GTMO reaffirmed its support for the Forestry Commission’s fight against illegal timber exploitation, warning that the illegal lumber market continues to fuel forest destruction at an alarming rate.
Large tracts of forests in Bono, Ahafo, and Western Regions are reportedly under siege, with illegally sourced timber being smuggled across Ghana’s northern borders into Sahelian countries.
The organisation called on forest-owning communities, the National House of Chiefs, environmental NGOs, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of the Interior, and consumers of timber products to rally behind the Forestry Commission in tackling what it described as a national security issue.
GTMO cautioned that failure to control illegal timber trade could lead to the collapse of genuine businesses, massive job losses, and a decline in foreign exchange earnings.
GNA
Kenneth Odeng Adade
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