The Gambia Government has been accused of issuing licences to timber wood traders to operate their businesses in the country amid concern of deforestation.

Forestry officials complained that the timber traders do tell them they obtained licence from the Ministry of Forestry.

“If we ask the traders, they said that the Ministry of Forestry handed over the licence to them and on that note, they decided to call both the environment and Forestry to clear the allegations but they refused to appear twice,” Salieu Puye, PRO of All Gambia Forestry Platform said.

“The platform had three meeting in URR, CRR and LRR. Some stakeholders like the chiefs, governors and Alkakos who are custodians of the forest through them and a lot of complaints were reported about the destruction happening to their environment,” he added.

Mr Puye revealed that “a lot of loggers from Senegal come into our territory waiting for clearing agents to clear them to Banjul, adding that “they smuggle it from Cassamance and its unfortunate even Gambians, Senegalese and Togolese are there.”

“They are using the territory of Gambians to facilitate the trade. We want the poor people of the country to know the illegalities happening in our country,” he said, adding “the forest scope of this country is almost lost, our generation yet to be born will not find anything in this environment.”

Mutarr Jallow, chairman of the group expressed disappointment at the Ministry of Environment and director of Forestry for “not showing up at previous press conference,” saying “this is the second time in nature whenever they are invited, they fail to appear for reasons best known to them.

“The purpose of this meeting is about the national interest on illegal logging, if the minister could not come at least senior officers should attend on his behalf. We found a lot of damages during our tour and if care is not taken our forest will be destroyed.”

Fatou Touray, a member also pointed out that the taskforce is about the environment and that is the reason she decided to join saying “as women we are more attached to the environment than anyone”, adding that she is a beekeeper and as a bee keeper she needs the forest.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba