Dear Editor,

THIS impending restructuring of the forestry sector should have been done since the APNU+AFC coalition government’s accession to office in 2015. Since the current managers who were there under the PPP government and still sit on the commission as managers, are responsible for the colossal mismanagement of the forestry sector. These same managers who are now opposing this restructuring, are responsible for giving away 80% of all state forests allocations to two ethnic groups (INDIANS and ASIAN). I am daring the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to dispute this fact by releasing the contracts of all state forest allocations by ethnicity.

Afro-Guyanese were told to join Community Forest Organisations, which are made up of very large memberships, usually having small state lands allocated to them; these lands are unproductive with limited cutting quota, rendering any economic venture as useless.

These same managers facilitated the uncontrolled and unrestricted importation of Pinewood which almost crippled our local industry, where only a few rich businessmen benefited. If it were not for the change of government, the cries of the small producers, the vision and astute leadership of the Minister of Natural Resources, the Hon Raphael Trotman, who lobbied CARICOM for suspension to increase the Common External Tariff (CET) on Pinewood and Pinewood Products from 5%-40%.

These same managers turned a blind eye to blatant CORRUPTION by these large Asian logging companies. When forestry officers visited these large Asian-owned forest concessions and found breaches of the Forestry Act, they were told to stand down. These managers are the ones who tried to increase the burden and add additional hardships to an already challenging industry, by lobbying for stumpage value, when loggers already have to pay millions of dollars in the form of acreage fees, royalties and fines.

These same managers facilitated the covering up of a sexual assault on a junior staff by a former senior manager (Deputy Commissioner of Forests- FRMD) who still works there. He was merely transferred to another department to continue his unholy activities (this case should be reopened for a police investigation). This restructuring is absolutely necessary and is welcomed by the industry, especially by small loggers.

Regards
Deon Carter