Mr. Kobina Baiden, Manager in charge of Offinso Forest District which comprises of 9 political constituencies accross Ashanti, Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions has strongly re-echoed his warning to illegal lumberers and people who venture into government forest reserves to farm, hunt and do other unwarranted activities. His comments come after the Offinso Circuit Court sentenced a
32-year-old Chainsaw Operator Agyenim Boateng who hails from Apagya near Offinso into six (6) months imprisonment with hard labour for “Harvesting Timber without Utilization Contract” contrary to Section (17)(2)(a)” of the “Timber Resource Management Act 1997 (Act 574) amended by Act 2002 (Act 617)” in a forest Reserve at Derma in the Tano South district.
Mr. Kobina Baiden noted that the Offinso Circuit Court presided over by His Lordship Justice Frederick Kwabena Twumasi may have considered the culprit who pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against him and convicted him on his own plea to six (6) months imprisonment to be served at the Kumasi Central Prisons, but future offenders may not be fortunate and will face very stiffer punishments henceforth all other illegal Chainsaw Operators must accordingly advice themselves.
By Joseph Amoateng Jnr