– timber magnate Mazahar Ally blames it on high fees, illegal logging
Director of AMSL, Captain Ahamad Mazahar Ally said it comes as no surprise that the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), a semi-autonomous Government Agency, with the oversight mandate to regulate the sustainable harvesting of one of our most valuable natural resources, had to be bailed out from the verge of bankruptcy by the newly formed Government.
In a letter to the well known forestry concessionaire said while the GFC has been experiencing financial difficulties for a few years now, two of the main contributing factors to its many problems are: the ineffective implementation of certain aspects of the forestry regulations, and the enormity of its fees structure, both of which hinder sectorial investment.
According to a published article titled: “Forestry Commission struggling to pay staffers” in the Kaieteur News on 13th April, 2019, “staffers claim that when they find illegal operations they are told to stand down, and there are likely no payments of the hefty fines, money that are needed to pay staffers” – an indisputable statement.
“Illegal loggers continue to enjoy a free pass, while legal concession holders bear the burden of hefty regulatory costs to set up and maintain their operations in accordance with the various categories of agreements with the Forestry Commission. These concession raiders consist of known individuals and rogue companies who conspire to manipulate and cheat the system to its disadvantage,” Ally said. He said the impact illegal logging has on the sector should never be taken lightly. He said for years, this problem has plagued the sector, and although it was highlighted as a major sectorial issue, it never garnered the attention and actions of the administration; all the while, most concession holders continue to lose stock in their forest-block-inventory.
Further, forest raiders take advantage of loopholes in the system. Although reports are made of illegal activities when caught by concession holders during routine boundary surveillance, the illegal loggers are operating with impunity. Not to mention, the unsustainable and destructive manner they use in harvesting logs for example, the cutting down of small sized trees for logs along with endangered species of trees, thereby destroying the environment. Eventually, their loot makes its way to the open market selling at lower rates than legal concession holders, and the cycle continues.
Ally noted that operating in the forestry sector is by no means easy. There is the constant need to conform to onerous regulatory controls against the backdrop of intensive capital investments and volatile markets. “But the enormity of the fees structure in place for certain category of operators is by far one of the biggest hurdles. Because of this, illegal loggers take advantage of the situation and undermine the highly regulated concessionaires. In other words, certain categories of operators incur high cost of production and even pay for the lost logs through high fixed acreage fees and royalties, while having to compete against their looters. The playing field is uneven thus leading to the decimation of investment and revenue stream in the forestry sector. “
“Indeed, there is significant loss of revenue through the pilfering of forest resources coupled with investment shrinkage such as, in the case of Barama and other large companies. However, for the Forestry Commission to dig itself out of debt, it needs to clamp down on illegal logging and restructure its plethora of burdensome fees that is creating an unfair advantage. These changes will raise more revenues, attract more investments, and contribute to the long-term economic success of the forestry sector,” Ally said.
Meanwhile, new Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton and Guyana Forestry Commissioner, Mr. Gavin Agard on Friday, met with members of the Ituni Small Loggers Association (ISLA) at the Ituni Community Center, Upper Demerara Berbice. This engagement was among others conducted by the minsters at several forestry stations in Region 10. Also visited was the Sosedyke, Kwakwani stations.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) release several issues were raised at the meeting including lack of tags and limited volume to continue logging operations; increased mining in ISLA concessions; access to finances for venturing into value-added activities and lack of representation for small logger associations on of the Guyana Forestry Commission Board.
Secretary for ISLA, Mr. Linden Duncan noted that the association is cognisant of the fact that the new administration is still “familiarising itself,” therefore “the issue we have, we understand cannot be immediately addressed. However, we hope that they can be looked at the beginning of the new fiscal year.”
The most pressing issue he said is being able to continue to operate; since approximately 75 percent of the community depends on logging activities for their livelihoods. Minister Bharrat assured members of the association that their concerns will be thoroughly addressed. He noted that mining and logging benefits thousands of Guyanese and the PPP/C government will not “sidetrack” the two sectors for oil and gas.
“We are working on preparing the Budget for 2020…we are hoping to get that budget presented in Parliament in a few days from now as you are aware of mining and logging, directly and indirectly, benefits I would say 150,000 to 200,000 Guyanese when you put the two sectors together so a lot of attention is been paid. Even though, the big thing in Guyana is Oil and Gas. It is not our Government’s intention to sidetrack mining and logging at the expense of Oil and Gas.”
The minister said that the sectors provide massive contributions to the economy of the country but require good management with good systems in place to benefit the stakeholders and the government. He said he will be reviewing the issues raised at the Ministerial-level however some may need to be addressed at Cabinet.
“Some of these issues may be [dealt with] at Cabinet-level with the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister. We can explore how we are going to find solutions for these issues,” he explained.
Referring to the issue of the opening of more lands, Minister Bharrat noted that a policy will have to be made in that regard. “For example, the one for productive land to work, that is a policy decision and we will look at how much land can be opened up and at what cost to the Government because if we open up land we need the relevant infrastructure to work that land because we can say ‘yes we can open up land’ however well will need to develop the roads to get in,” he explained.
He added that the Ministry will explore measures to have a representative for the small logging associations sit on the Forestry Commission Board. However, in the interim, the way is being cleared for the representative to be able to communicate with the Board and the Management of the GFC.
Hamilton underscored the importance of the loggers to familiarise themselves with the labour laws of Guyana. Particularly as it related to employer-employee relations. “You have to obey the labour laws… whether in mining or forestry. Let your organisation get access to all the rules and regulations so you know what obligation you have to your employees and they, in turn, know what obligation they have to their employer.”
He said, ministry intends to establish Labour Officers and Occupational Health and Safety Officers in every region, who can be onsite to oversee the operations of various entities. As such, the Minister recommended that these persons be selected by community members for training facilitated by the Ministry of Labour. “My idea is to have the community… say to [Ministry of] Labour, this is a bright young man or woman that we are recommending for training to be the Labour Officer and the Occupational Safety and Health Officer. … so, you will have somebody who is out there… to ensure safe working conditions and good labour relations,” Minister Hamilton stated.”
