Placido Hilukilwa
Africa-Press – Namibia. THE cutting down of trees has become a common occurrence in Oshakati, and the town council is warning perpetrators of severe consequences.
Residents, mostly unemployed youths, cut down trees to harvest firewood that they sell to generate income for themselves.
Their preferred targets are trees located in uninhabited municipal land, from which people were displaced to pave the way for new developments.
They cut down the trees, chop the branches, and split the trunks into logs, which they sell in informal settlements and the open market.
A bunch of three or four logs, each about 50 cm long, is sold at N$20.
However, local authority officials are not pleased with this situation.
“The cutting down of trees is not permitted, regardless of whether the tree is located in your yard,” said Katarina Kamari, the town council’s spokesperson.
She emphasized that there is a severe penalty for anyone caught cutting down a tree, including indigenous ones.
In a recent incident, a tree was cut down and fell dangerously close to the town’s main road, opposite the Magistrate’s court.
Council officials halted the activity, despite their “lame excuse” that they cut down the tree because it was a hiding place for a dangerous snake.
“In reality, they are firewood entrepreneurs,” said a council official.
Later, town council workers were seen cleaning up the area where the tree had been cut down.
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