Nana Addai Munumkum, chief of Botokrom in the Berekum west District of the Bono region has declared war on illegal chainsaw operators on their land.
According to the chief who says he has the backing of his people, illegal chainsaw operators in the area are gradually destroying their forest reserve which has been preserved through afforestation for the past 40 years.
Speaking in an interview with Adom news, Nana Addai Munumkum was confident the war will help clump down on deforestation in the area.
“We have informed authorities in Berekum, Dormaa and Sunyani but there is no help in curbing the situation so we have declared this war to curb the issue in our own way,” he said.
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Obaahemaa of Botokrom, Nana Yaa Amankwa who added her voice to the fight described the operators as threat to the community who steal from their farms and engage in other criminal activities.
Meanwhile, the community has inaugurated a task force headed by Mr James Effa to monitor the activities of the illegal operators.
The task force has vowed to protect the forest reserve with their last blood and asked government to provide them with security personnel to curb the operation of illegal chainsaw operators in the area.