Forestry official breaks silence…

Kaieteur News

2007/10/02

Forestry official breaks silence…

claims was dismissed after refusing to carry out illegal act

Dismissed Assistant Commissioner of Forests Rudolph Adams is claiming that he was fired because he refused to carry out an illegal act.

And the former top official is threatening to disclose all he knows. Adams 's statements are the latest twists for the forestry sector, which has been taking quite a hammering from critics.

Last week, Minister with responsibility for the forests, Robert Persaud, and Guyana Forestry Commissioner James Singh, in a press conference, announced that several companies are being investigated for allegedly under-declaring their forest production and incorrectly stating the origin of logs harvested.

If the accusations prove true, the infringements would also have severe implications on Government's revenues and would indicate forestry employees' illegal collusion with businesses, it was stated at the press conference.

Speaking with Kaieteur News, Adams said he was dismissed because he insisted on inspecting a shipment of logs belonging to a Chinese company.

Speaking out for the first time, Adams said that his troubles all started on July 21 this year. As Assistant Commissioner of Forests - Quality Control division, Adams said that, according to regulations, he had the authority to inspect logs, although GFC has inspectors specifically for this purpose.

On the said day, he was informed by a junior employee that a shipment was coming from Kwakwani, Berbice River . As per normal, a team was assembled and checks were made for the shipment at the various wharves.

However, there was no sign of the logs. The team then made routine checks with several Water Street businesses, to ensure that they were complying with forestry regulations. A few days later, Adams said, he was questioned about the trip and his superiors asked him for a list of his activities on the day in question.

He was then told that a management meeting was being set up to discuss a possible flouting of regulations. According to Adams , he did not find anything strange with the request, since he had all the required reports on his activities.

On July 25, Adams said, he was informed that the shipment was at one of the wharves. Documents for the container's release had been sent to the GFC for approval. However, the Assistant Commissioner said, he was stopped by a GFC senior manager from inspecting the cargo.

According to Adams , that particular shipment of logs was highly questionable since he was told that the container was already sealed although the documents were at the GFC. This was highly irregular, he noted, since logs being shipped out needed to be approved for quality. So it was unthinkable that a container could be sealed when the documents were still at GFC awaiting approval.

At the end of July, GFC sent Adams on administrative leave for what he described as a trumped-up accusation - allegedly inspecting logs at another site without the necessary paperwork. The former Assistant Commissioner was fired last month for breaching regulations, it was announced. Adams says he believes that he was dismissed because he questioned the shipment of logs.

A few weeks ago, Adams had appealed to Minister Persaud to review his dismissal.

The minister appointed an Arbitration Panel, which, among other persons, would have comprised the likes of Commissioner Andrew Bishop of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission. However, on Friday, Adams turned up for a scheduled meeting with the panel, only to find that the persons on the panel were not whom he