Knowledge Gaps about Ghana’s Legality Assurance System Hamper its Successful Implementation

 These knowledge gaps about Ghana‘s Legality Assurance System (LAS) under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) signed between Ghana and the European Union in certain key sectors of the Ghanaian society were identified by the Timber Legality Compliance and Advocacy Project (TILCAP) during evaluation and monitoring activities to receive feedback from project beneficiaries as well as lessons learnt during the implementation of the project.

The knowledge gaps can be found amongst the numerous individuals working in the timber industry who are scattered all over the countryside and have not been captured by educational programmes so far as a result of their isolation as well as security agencies that are required to monitor and prosecute those who fail to comply with prescribed laws and regulations.

Since these agencies are generally not abreast with issues on the VPA and forest laws, their ability to detect when such laws are flouted is compromised by their lack of knowledge which in turn affects the effective implementation of the laws.

In addition, whilst senior staff members of the Forestry Commission (FC) are very knowledgeable about the VPA and Ghana’s LAS, this knowledge has not been shared with those on the lower ranks of the organisation’s workforce. Consequently, they are not in a position to offer the necessary support to senior staff members in the implementation of these laws because they are unaware of them.

Furthermore, the level of knowledge about issues on Ghana’s LAS and the VPA is almost non-existent among the general public in Ghana because all educational programmes so far have been focussed mostly on those in the industry.

This undermines the ability of the general public, as consumers, to lend their support to the implementation of Ghana’s LAS by drawing the attention of the appropriate authorities to those who do not comply with the LAS and also being in a position to reject lumber on the market that does not comply with the provisions of Ghana’s LAS.

Thus, the necessary support from the masses that the FC and the VPA Secretariat in particular can tap in the implementation of Ghana’s VPA has so far been left untapped.

It is therefore necessary that the appropriate measures be taken to educate all these categories of people on Ghana’s LAS to ensure its successful implementation.

The TILCAP is being implemented by Tropenbos International (TBI) Ghana with funding from the European Commission.