The Liberia Timber Association (LibTA) and the Liberia Chainsaw and Timber Dealers Union have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that clearly outlined how they would go about achieving what they desire as it relates to their respective operations in the forest sector of the country.
The MOU was signed recently following four high-level meetings which were held between the Liberia Timber Association (LibTA) and the Liberia Chainsaw and Timber Dealers Union (LICSATDUN).
The adoption of the MOU by the two parties further aimed to be used to guide the relationship between the collaborating groups going forward. The draft MOU was presented by the committee that was charged with the responsibility for the drafting of the MOU led by Alvin N. Kanneh of LICSATDUN.
According to information from LibTA, the objective of these meetings was to improving forest governance and mutual co-existence within the Liberia forest sector as well as strengthening the private sector front in Liberia through increased cooperation between LibTA and LICSATDUN, for effective forest reforms.
The four meetings were held between the period of September 14th 2022 and December 14th 2022.
“The meetings were part of activities to be executed under phase two of a project that is being jointly executed by LibTA & LICSATDUN in Liberia and NDF & the Kumasi Wood Cluster (KWC) of Ghana.”
“All of these high-level meetings were held in the ediface of the Liberia Annual Conference/ United Methodist Church (LAC/UMC) located at the intersection of Sinkor, 12th Street, and Tubman Boulevard in Monrovia.” The statement noted.
The first high-level meeting was held on September 15, 2022 during which time various speakers from both LibTA and LICSATDUN stressed the important for the two organizations to work together to find solutions to govern and manage challenges confronting the forest sector of Liberia in general, and both the formal as well as informal private players in the sector, in particular.
Furthermore, members of the two organizations held discussion on the need for a well-tailored framework that clearly defines how LibTA and LICSATDUN can work together to ensure sanity in the forest industry.
LibTA revealed that one hundred percent funding for the hosting of the high-level meetings was provided by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom through the Nature Development Foundation (NDF) of Ghana. The total cost of hosting the four high-level meetings were around 4,820GBP.