Yambio County toughens penalties for illegal loggers

YAMBIO, OCTOBER 1, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – Local government authorities in Yambio County of South Sudan’s Western Equatoria State on Friday said they are imposing harsher penalties on unlicensed loggers.

Mbiko Barakat, the county commissioner, told reporters that the move would stiffen penalties including fines and jail terms for those found guilty of cutting down trees without permission from the local government authorities.

“If we see somebody from Monday cutting trees, the machines are going to be compensated and the owner of the machines will be fined,” Barakat told reporters on Friday.

Barakat accused individuals and companies of carrying out illegal logging in the state.

“It is not people who are from very far, it is us the South Sudanese who are destroying our environment ignorantly and without knowing that tomorrow it will affect us,” he said.

He said the move aims at fighting climate change in the state.

“The rain is not coming as usual and dry season can occur even in August for two weeks which was not there before, so we want to save the environment and our forest,” he said.

He accused the state ministry of agriculture and forestry of issuing authorization to illegal loggers.

“The State ministry of Agriculture is on daily basis issuing authorization letter to cut mahogany as if the mahogany was planted by the ministry. The ministry does not have mahogany,” he said.

He said he had given a 10-days ultimatum for illegal loggers to stop cutting timbers and mahogany trees.

“It is the local community on the ground that bears the consequences of this because we are burning it to make charcoal and we are cutting it illegally without planting. They are supposed to cut and plant,” he said

Alison Barnaba, state minister of agriculture, forestry and environment said it is the county that approved the cutting of trees, adding that he only issues letters of no objection.

“When a businessman come to me or company who want to deal with trees, I normally give directors which is issuing to him letter of no objection directing him present himself in the county authority and the country authority will take him to Boma because all bushes around belong to the counties,” said Barnaba.