Was this sale by Demerara Timbers to Bai Shan Lin approved by the Forestry Commission?

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56527399

Was this sale by Demerara Timbers to Bai Shan Lin approved by the
Forestry Commission?
Stabroek News
Thursday, August 23rd 2007

Dear Editor,

I refer to the article by your reporter Johann Earle captioned
"Demerara Timbers to be taken over by Bai Shan Lin" (SN 07.08.21).
Through your columns, Mr Editor, I would like to ask:

a. A transfer of ownership of a forest harvesting concession requires
government approval (Timber Sales Agreement, condition 13), when and
under what conditions did the Board of Directors of the Guyana Forestry
Commission (GFC) agree to this transfer?

b. The President, as Minister of Forestry, must give prior approval to
such transfer (Forest Regulations 1953, Clause 12), when and under what
conditions was Presidential agreement signed?

c. The implication of the National Forest Policy 1997 (Part III A 4 and
Part IV B 3) and of the National Forest Plan 2001 (Section NFP 320) is
that concessions which cannot be operated by the licencees should be
rescinded by the GFC (Forest (Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1982,
Clause 11) and either placed in a strategic reserve of unallocated
forest or advertised publicly for new bidding. Under the Forests
(Amendment) (Exploratory Permits) amendment to the Forests Act in 1997,
such advertisement should call for the offering of a price premium for
the right to have exclusive access to the forest timber resources
within the concession boundary. Why was this procedure not used by the
GFC and what are the details of the compensatory premium which has been
offered by Bai Shan Lin to balance the cost saving of not having to
compete for the concession(s)?

d. Given that Bai Shan Lin has received US$ 5.1 million so far "to
facilitate the project" according to the company's Administrative
Manager ('New Chinese pledges to invest US $100 million, SN, 07.02.09),
[was this US $5.1 million out of EU funding channelled through LEAP and
intended to support bona fide businesses in Region 10?] and given that
it has failed to comply with the terms of its Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) agreement with Guyana, what due diligence checks have Cabinet,
the GFC and the Guyana Revenue Authority carried out to ensure that
Guyana will not be further subsidising this Asian-owned logger?

e. Given that Bai Shan Lin has agreed not to export unprocessed logs,
what precautions are in place to prevent Bai Shan Lin from selling logs
to front companies for log exports such as Rong-An Inc., Natural Wealth
Development Inc., Demerara Timber Resources Inc., Newray Group Guyana
Inc. and a host of other newly incorporated companies?

f. Given that one of the purposes of FDI arrangements is the expansion
of employment and skills training for Guyanese, what precautions is the
Ministry of Home Affairs taking to prevent Bai Shan Lin from sacking
DTL employees and bringing in Chinese workers ?

g. What other elements of a time-bound action plan with progress
indicators associated with the FDI agreement of Bai Shan Lin will apply
to the DTL and landlorded concessions?

The two legal Timber Sales Agreements held by DTL cover 522,000 ha and
its two illegally rented concessions cover a further 91,000 ha. Surely
it is in the interest of Guyana that over six hundred thousand hectares
of prime public forest assets should be publicly tendered rather than
slipped under the table from one Asian logger to another?

Yours faithfully,

Janette Bulkan