Ituni loggers have been granted a year’s extension on their logging concession licences, after petitioning Natural Resources Minister, Raphael Trotman.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) release, the minister recently met with loggers after receiving complaints that the two years granted for concessions was too short, and had resulted in them being unable to harvest logs.
The letter that inspired the meeting was sent by the Ituni Small Loggers Association, which requested that Trotman address the situation.
DPI related that the minister, after meeting with the group, engaged the Commissioner of Forests, who referred the matter to the Board of Directors, which agreed to offer an extension. As a result, the concession time has been extended from two years to three years, to offer the loggers more time to harvest, the minister said.
However, Trotman urged the residents to “get their house in order”, DPI reported.
“If it is that they have been violating; cutting logs illegally, that has to stop…they have to ensure that they are an organised body having held elections and so forth…We are expecting that the organisation itself is up to scratch and we will do our part,” he noted.
The release said that residents and members of the Association expressed gratitude at the decision, with one resident declaring that the entire logging community would receive the announcement “with an open heart and much gladness”.
It was stated that Trotman noted other concerns raised by the residents during the meeting, including the need for a resident medical professional in the community, as well as an ambulance.
