The Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi and deputy minister designate for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Alhaji Yusif Sulemana has asked for severe punishment for persons caught felling shea trees in the Savanna Ecological Zone.
The MP made this recommendation when he appeared before the appointments committee of Parliament to be vetted.
It was in response to a question posed to him by the MP for Daboya-Mankarigu, Hon. Mahama Shaibu Obei on what he would do to protect the economic tree which he said is under serious threat.
The deputy minister designate described the shea tree as the “cocoa” of the savannah ecological area and expressed worry about the wanton destruction of the shea tree for commercial charcoal production and other purposes.
“If we have a situation where we are felling those trees, it should be a source of worry. It is an economic tree and to fell an economic tree is a crime and so we need to enforce our laws. People who are seen felling economic trees should be punished and punished severely”, he recommended.
Hon. Yusif emphasized that the chiefs have done enough to curb the negative phenomenon and recounted how perpetrators were punished in the past by the chief priests for destroying those trees because it was considered a taboo.
“Growing up as a child, and my revered chiefs here would bear me witness that those days, it was even a taboo for you to fell that tree. Anytime you fell that tree, you were summoned by the chief priest or to the palace and you were charged”.
He added that it’s something they would have to revisit to help salvage the situation.
According to him, he is a direct beneficiary of the economic tree because his mother in the past used proceeds from the shea nuts to support his education.
The Bole-Bamboi legislature at the vetting rallied the District Assemblies to pass bye-laws to support the existing laws to preserve the shea tree for the future generations.
“The District Assemblies should also help, the District Assemblies should see that tree as an economic tree and if there’s the need for them to even support the existing laws with bye-laws why not so that we can preserve that tree for ourselves and future generations”, he rallied.
