This photograph showed logs assembling site in Poniyike Village of Kansuk Boma in Nyepo Payam of Kajo-Keji County Central Equatoria State taken in early November 2021 when a fact-finding legal team of investigators and a senior public prosecutor visited Kajo-Keji County and particularly Nyepo Payam to get hard evidence of the logging activity as the Community of Nyepo seeks legal solution over the matter - Courtesy

The Central Equatoria State Cabinet has formed a committee to investigate reports of illegal logging in Kajokeji and Lainya counties.

The decision follows a presentation from State Minister of Environment and Forestry, Lily Kapuki Jurkin, during a cabinet meeting chaired by Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony.

The cabinet resolved to ban all illegal logging activities across the state with immediate effect.

State Minister of Information, Patrick Nyarusk, said the committee will be led by the State Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Forestry, and include other ministries.

Its task is to assess the scale of illegal logging and determine the volume of logs already harvested.

Speaking after the meeting on Monday, Minister Nyarusk said the cabinet acted following concerns that logging had been conducted without oversight from relevant ministries.

“The council received a report from the State Minister of Environment and Forestry on illegal logging in Lainya and Kajokeji counties. The cabinet has banned all illegal logging in Central Equatoria with immediate effect. The public is called upon to protect the environment by planting trees rather than cutting them, “Minister Nyarusk said.

“A committee, led by the Minister of Agriculture, Environment, and Forestry, with support from the Ministers of Finance, Planning, and Investment, will investigate the scale of illegal logging and submit recommendations to the council,”

The cabinet called on residents to cooperate with authorities and contribute to environmental protection across the state.