Forestry scam… GHRA statements uninformed • GFC

Forestry scam… GHRA statements uninformed • GFC
Kaieteur News, 28 September 2007


As the debate continues to rage over the state of the forestry sector,
the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) is trading barbs with and has
slammed a press statement by the Guyana Human Rights Association
(GHRA), accusing the watchdog group of making uninformed statements.

On Wednesday, GHRA had called for the temporary suspension of Forestry
Commissioner James Singh, and said that GFC could not credibly
investigate itself.

In a response yesterday, the regulatory forestry body, brushing off
calls for Singh's suspension to facilitate an ongoing probe, said that
the effectiveness of GFC's control procedures is demonstrated by the
fact that officers from the Monitoring and Internal Audit Unit were the
ones who detected suspected breaches in the GFC's procedures at some
locations.

“This information was publicized by the Ministry of Agriculture, since
stakeholders have been calling on the GFC to be more transparent and
accountable,” said GFC.

Stressing that it is the agency in charge of managing Guyana 's state
forest and while the intentions are to have full compliance with all
parties, the entity acknowledged that there have been defaulters from
time to time.

As a regulatory agency, GFC said it had the mandate to carry out its
current investigation with respect to the suspected breaches that the
GFC has informed the nation about.

“It is therefore unacceptable for the GHRA to now castigate the GFC for
this exposure, and make uninformed statements such as: “The announced
investigation is not the result of internal GFC zeal, but external
pressure from national and international agencies and the activists
outraged by the irresponsible plundering of Guyana's forests.”

According to GFC, other statements made by GHRA in the press release
are incorrect and designed to tarnish the integrity and professionalism
of GFC.

“The GFC accepts that some officers may be unprofessional in the
execution of their duties but as an entity, the GFC is recognized
locally, regionally and internationally for the very positive and
tangible steps taken to regulate the forest sector, and encourage
sustainable forest management practices.”

Following increased attention on the forestry sector, especially with
accusations that there was across-the-board corruption, two
high-ranking officers of GFC were disciplined last month, with one of
them being dismissed.

On Tuesday last, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, along with
Singh, announced that GFC has unearthed some irregularities in its
records, which if confirmed to be improper, could have far reaching
implications on royalties, honesty of GFC rangers and taxes. A
widespread investigation into several companies that have forestry
concessions is now underway.