Despite recorded growth until September 2018 of the forestry sector, continued growth has been constrained by poor transport networks and delayed road maintenance. As a result, the “promising performance” of the sector has now been reduced to 0.2 percent.
This was revealed by Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan during today’s reading of the 2019 National Budget, under the theme, “transforming the economy, empowering people, building sustainable communities for the good life.”
Speaking on the forestry sector, Minister Jordan said that the sector improved for the first time in 2017 since the APNU+AFC Coalition took office. According to him, the administration “revoked some of the lopsided agreements that allowed for the wanton destruction of our pristine forests.” He further said that this growth was extended into 2018 thanks to a number of interventions, including budget 2018 measures and continued partnership with the private sector.
However, he Jordan said that poor weather conditions, which affected the transport network, and delayed road maintenance stymied further growth of this sector. He added that performance of the sector had been promising up until September, and production had stood at this time at 19.3 percent higher than the same period for 2017.
According to Minister Jordan, the administration will continue to strive to build a more robust and diversified economy; achieve financial resilience; and foster inclusive growth.
