The Forestry Commission has rated Kete Krachi Timber Recovery (KKTR) Limited, a wholly-owned Ghanaian company operating the Lake Volta timber recovery concession, as one of the leading exporters of timber products.
In its Export Performance Report for December 2019 released earlier this year, the Forestry Commission indicated that the top five species include teak, wawa, mahogany, cedrela and papao/apa, and KKTR is one of the leading exporters of these timber products.
In the lumber (Air dried) category, Kete Krachi Timber Recovery was once again mentioned in the Forestry Commission report as one of the seven leading exporters.
Coming up for recognition by the Forestry Commission barely 13 months after its inauguration as One District One Factory (1D1F) by President Akufo-Addo, KKTR’s feat, according to Elkin Pianim Chief Executive of KKTR, “is not only the result of the hard work and dedication of the staff of the company but also the unstinting support of the 1D1F secretariat in helping to navigate the bureaucratic obstacles in doing business in Ghana.”
Mr. Pianim stressed that the wood KKTR exports is not from felling living trees from Ghana’s depleted forest but rather from wood hitherto submerged under Lake Volta for over 55 years after the construction of the Akosombo Dam in 1965, adding that “in effect, KKTR contributes positively to the environmental sustainability of the country.”
The Chairman of KKTR, Mr. Francis Mawuena Kalitsi, was of the view that the positive role of the company far exceeded the export of salvaged wood but also included the clearance of stumps from Lake Volta for safe transportation channels for the citizens living in the 1,660 communities adjoining the Volta Lake, as well as helping solve the problem of rural unemployment.