The Forestry Commission of Ghana -Service Charter

Service Charter

THE NEW FORESTRY COMMISSION

What problems did the old Forestry Commission face?

Although Ghana’s policies for sustainable forest and wildlife management were sound, putting them into practice was difficult due to limited staff and financial resources. The institutional arrangements in which different departments operated independently in the management of forest and wildlife resources and the regulation of the industry led to overlaps and inefficiencies. In addition, the different departments being part of the Civil Service, did not receive the budget or personnel resources to cope with the increasing pressures of forest and wildlife management.

What’s new about the Forestry Commission and how do the changes help?

Ghana Visison 2020

The transformation of the Forestry Commission is a key part of Ghana Vision 2020. The new Commission fosters a public service culture sensitive to the impact of forest and wildlife regulation and sensitive to the needs of customers. It provides a forum for stakeholders and staff alike.

By bringing the main public bodies and agencies under one body, and modernising and restructuring along business lines, we will deliver integrated forest and wildlife management and utilisation services that are commercially minded and customer focused.

Running the organisation like a business is vital if we are to meet the needs of customers and support the growth and development of Ghana’s forests.

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Working together

We manage Ghana’s forests and wildlife resources through collaboration with local government, landowners, forest fringe communities, forest industry and non-governmental organisations so that everyone can monitor and evaluate our plans and activities.

Financial Independence

Our main source of funding is from such monies as Parliament may provide for the performance of our functions and our share of revenue from the sale of timber and wildlife resources to contractors. We will also earn extra income from our technical and consulting services to the private and public sectors, from improved plantation and game ranches development, and from fees for entrance to protected areas. We aim to be totally transparent and cost effective, and have no monopoly privileges. Above all, the Commission must be financially accountable, and able to maintain self-sufficiency by collecting its fees and invoicing regularly for completed work or consultancy.

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Responsibility

We are ultimately responsible for :

the regulation of the utilisation of forest and wildlife resources,
the conservation and management of the nation’s forest reserves and protected areas,
assisting private sector and other bodies with the implementation of forest and wildlife policies
advising and providing technical services with regard to matters of resource protection, management and development of market intelligence pertaining to wildlife and forest industries
the development of forest plantation and game ranches for the restoration of degraded forest areas and dwindling wildlife resources
the coordination of policies related to the conservation, management and development of forest and wildlife resources.
In terms of local government administration we are not a decentralised agency and we share the responsibility for the development of forest and wildlife resources outside reserves and other protected areas with local governments who are expected to have a major say in how land outside forest reserves and other protected areas are used.

We provide District Assemblies with technical advice on tree nurseries, woodlot establishments, wildlife management, alternative natural resource-based livelihood strategies, commercial tree plantations and soil and water conservation.

The Divisions of the Commission provide specialised services to specific stakeholders and target groups.
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Philosophy

We are dedicated to our core values, which we will endeavour to follow all the time. They are:

delivering the highest quality service to our customers

a belief in the judicious use of resources as a primary requirement for organisational success.

management by target setting and regular review

a collaborative approach as a strategic tool of forest and wildlife management

training and development as a means to achieving organisational excellence

protecting and developing our forests and wildlife resources for the future.

optimising the utilisation of forest and wildlife resources through value addition.

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Staff and Internal Structure

By focusing on our priorities we have restructured management to make sure we achieve our aims. Regional Managers will have a high level of executive responsibility, providing a direct link to the Regional Co-ordinating Councils. Similarly, District Managers will work with District Assemblies to help with the forestry and wildlife component of district planning.

We are an equal opportunities employer and our human resources team carry out regular performance reviews. All our employees are motivated by personal goals and we believe this is the cornerstone to achieving long-term organisational goals.
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Commercial Relationships

In all cases where the Forestry Commission provides services to non-public bodies it will do so on a commercial basis. Similarly, services provided to public bodies will be on a full cost basis unless it is Government policy that such services will be subsidised.

Basic Structure

The Minister responsible for forestry has ministerial responsibility for the Commission. The Minister may give general direction in writing the Commission on matters of policy.

A Board of Commissioners is ultimately responsible the running of the Commission. A Chief Executive is appointed for the Commission and is the executive and administrative head of the Commission.

Currently, there are three (3) Divisions of the Commission and each is headed by an Executive Director who takes responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Division and is answerable to the Commission through the Chief Executive in the performance of his/her duties.

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