A government-European Union capacity-building workshop held in Yaounde yesterday February 14.

Independent auditors charged with following up the legality and transparency of the government-European Union Voluntary Partnership Agreement on logging activities in the country have been drilled on how best they can carry on their duties for fruits of the accord to be visible in the economy and lives of the population. They were on Thursday February 14 drilled on the different control mechanisms of the process. This was during a capacity-building workshop of the auditors jointly organised by government, through the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, and the European Union.

Speaking during the ceremony, Caroline Duhesme, Team Leader of the Independent Auditors of the FLEGT process, said the role of the auditors consists essentially in ensuring that the national legality verification system, which enables FLEGT export licences to be issued, is reliable and credible. She said they are supposed to evaluate the use of and compliance with legality grids and associated controls, the national traceability system and the system for issuing FLEGT export licences.

Sitting in for the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, the Inspector General No. 1 in the ministry, Ebia Ndongo, said government has been unwavering in ensuring the legality of logging activities in the country and will not spare any effort in bringing the FLEGT process which it voluntarily signed with the European Union to the desired fruition.