Reprieve for property developers as Tobiko lifts logging ban

The State has lifted a 90-day logging ban for private commercial tree growers in a move that offers huge relief for construction industry players whose costs have escalated owing to the sanction.

On February 24, the government imposed a ban on harvesting of trees in all private, public and community forests in a bid to save the country’s water towers that are facing extinction due to human activity.

The logging ban has, however, resulted in escalation of prices of timber products, with the cost of wooden poles more than doubling from Sh150 a piece to Sh320 on Wednesday due to scarcity of the commodity.

Builders who had already acquired poles just before the prohibition have been unable to transport them to their sites since the ban included the suspension of timber and logs movements.

Considering that the price of sand has also hit an all-time high at a time when industry players are finding it hard to obtain credit, many builders are postponing their projects indefinitely – a situation that threatens the growth of the sector.

The lifting of the ban is, therefore, expected to ease some financial pressure on builders who are already contending with the rising construction costs.

In a statement on Wednesday, Environment and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko clarified that the ban on logging in all public and community forests remains in force.

Mr Tobiko said that dealers will get movement permits issued by the Kenya Forest Service for all timber products from private commercial forests to safeguard against crooks eyeing public forests.

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