We talk to manufacturers and officials in Kampala to observe the end users of smuggled Democratic Republic of Congo hardwood – furniture makers who import more than $1m worth of timber a year. Ugandan prisoners hone African mahogany into furniture at a government-run business that takes pride of place at the Uganda Prisons furniture showroom at the Uganda Manufacturers’ Association (UMA) showgrounds in Kampala.
We talk to manufacturers and officials in Kampala to observe the end users of smuggled Democratic Republic of Congo hardwood – furniture makers who import more than $1m worth of timber a year.
Once timber arrives at the markets in Kampala and furniture workshops, it is no longer illegal, due to loopholes in the law, according to Professor Abwoli Banana of Makerere University. Indeed, no one wants to inspect it.Bob Kazungu, Uganda’s acting assistant commissioner for forestry at the Ministry for Water and Environment, argues it is counterproductive to inspect furniture companies and timber dealers to check their documents.
Master Wood Investments, a company that has produced furniture for more than three decades, largely relies on hardwood. The president provided the prisons with financial support to buy new machines and revamp furniture workshops to prepare for the anticipated market boom, head ofFor the office of the president, I have delivered an order worth about USh50m
“For the office of the president, I have delivered an order worth about USh50m . I have delivered an order from the parliament of Uganda.Although there is plenty of Congolese timber in Kampala, data on Uganda’s official timber imports from the country are scanty and unreliable given the under-declaration of what is officially imported by dealers.The URA provided data for a slightly different period: 2,561 entries of mahogany from the DRC were recorded between July 2019 and June 2022, worth USh8.
Uganda Furniture Hardwood Smuggling Democratic Republic Of Congo Timber Prisoners Mahogany
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