Sawmillers have welcomed a government plan to lift the ban on logging imposed 10 years ago.

Forestry and Wildlife minister Noah Wekesa said the ban would be lifted once the Cabinet gives its approval. The decision was reached after talks between the government and other players in forest management.

On Sunday, sawmillers said lifting the ban would end the decade-long monopoly enjoyed by multinational corporations.

The chairman of the Kenya Timber Manufacturers Association, Rev Bernard Gitau, said: “Multinational timber companies have been favoured by the government for all this time, during the ban, and I think it’s time all of us are treated equally.”

Dr Wekesa made the announcement on Friday in a speech read on his behalf by the permanent secretary, Mr Mohammed Wa-Mwachai, during a graduation ceremony at the Kenya Forestry College in Londiani.

He said the ban, though well- intended, had encouraged illegal logging in public forests. It had increased the value of timber and driven trade in the commodity onto the black market, he added.

He said his ministry, through the Kenya Forestry Service, would soon complete a survey to establish the extent of forest plantations in the country.

“When the ban is lifted, allocation of harvesting areas will be according to provisions of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005,” he said.

Dr Wekesa said the Act would provide for competitive bidding and establish a reserve price for any size of plantation or trees.

At the same time, players in the forestry sector said that the ban negated the spirit of conservation of forests by allowing timber to rot and go to waste.

They spoke during a two-day workshop held in Nakuru. “It is of great concern to us members. We have agreed that it (ban) has taken unnecessarily long to be lifted, which is not in line with sustainable forest management,” said the Forest Society of Kenya chairman, Mr Philip Wamahiu.