Ngole Philip Ngwese said the FCFA 34.592 billion requested for 2014 is for continuity of 2013.

The Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, (MINFOF), Ngole Philip Ngwese, has pledged his ministry’s determination to step up surveillance of the country’s rich flora and fauna resources so that they can conveniently contribute to the much needed socio-economic development in the country.

After defending the 34.592 billion 2014 package before the Budget and Finance Committee of the National Assembly on Saturday November 30, Minister Ngole Philip Ngwese, said priority areas will be those outlined in 2013 within the three-year programme budget.

“In 2014, we are going to enforce a certain number of priorities mainly on the sustainable management of our forestry and fauna resources and ensure that the contribution of this sub-sector to our economy is relevant. This is a sector which employs directly 23,000 people and gives about 150,000 indirect jobs and contributing about FCFA 20 billion, close to 6 per cent to our Gross Domestic Product,” he said.

And to attain optimum, programmes like, “Management and renewal of forest resources,” “Securing and enhancing wildlife resources and protected areas so as to contribute to the sub-sector tax revenue,” “Enhancement of timber and non-timber forest resources,” and “Steering, institutional management and governance of the sub-sector,” will be carried out.

The Minister disclosed that the process of standardization procedures, timber products and related procedures initiated in conjunction with the National Agency for Standards and Quality (ANOR) will be continued in order to reassure consumers about the quality of products put on the market. “It is quite a daunting task for us to ensure that the priorities we set this year are met,” the Minister observed.