Monrovia, Liberia – The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) lost a significant amount of money and failed to penalize the firm that allowed the shipment of 2,549 cubic meters of abandoned wood. According to official records, Iroko Logging and Timber Company shipped two consignments of logs on May 7 and July 18 of last year. The cargo ship MV Nimeh transported the 431 logs in total to Chittagong, Bangladesh.
However, it was about a year and a half after the logs were taken from Sinoe County’s Central River Dugbe Community Forest, the Liberian Investigator reports. According to the Nigerian-owned company’s Facebook page and website, Iroko had retrieved the data in October 2022. Residents and other sources reported that in February and March of last year, it only moved 431 logs from the Jaedae District woods to an open area close to Greenville.
The Abandoned Logs, Timber, and Timber Products Regulation is broken by that. According to the 2017 rule, all logs must be shipped, processed, or exported within three weeks to six months of harvest. The FDA is required to look into the matter, auction the logs, or penalize the corporation that gathered them if they remain in a certain place over the regulatory term. Tenth, twenty, and fortieth of the total worth of the abandoned logs are included in the penalties, depending on the species classes.
Based on the export permits and the rule, The DayLight’s study revealed that the government lost US$103,387 because the FDA failed to take such action with Iroko.
The newspaper multiplied the logs’ volumes and grouped each species to determine the punishment. After that, it combined those goods and multiplied the total quantities by the FDA-approved pricing. After adding up all of the first-class species according to the FDA’s classification, 10% of that total was discovered.
The newspaper found 5% of the total this term by doing the same with the second-class ones. Ultimately, it combined the percentage values of the two classes to determine the appropriate amount of money for the government and Iroko’s fine.
The Liberian Investigator publication added that the US$103,387 loss occurs when revenue creation in the forestry industry declines. Although Liberia is home to the greatest areas of West Africa’s surviving rainforests, the industry produced the least amount of US$7.65 million between July 2021 and December 2022.
However, that number may be higher. Residents of the Central River Dugbe Community Forest claim that Iroko left a number of logs there. The community forest’s head officer, Bartee Togba, affirmed what the locals were saying. According to Togba, locals have tallied more than 60 logs in the forest that borders Grand Kru. He stated that there will be another counting since “there were more logs.”
The FDA pledged to look into Iroko’s abandoning of the logs after the second of two DayLight inspections last year, but they never did. Requests for response from the regulator were not answered.
Iroko allegedly sent the Liberian government US$173,432 in July and August of last year to pay export, land leasing, and other costs. However, the evidence indicates that the corporation owes US$16,263 in land rental fees to the government. Iroko requested in August of that year that the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) settle the outstanding debt owed in September and October. The LRA concurred.
“If we default on this agreement, our tax debt may be referred to the Ministry of Justice to sue for the unpaid tax and or court’s authorization to seize and sell our property,” the agreement’s terms and conditions read.
However, The DayLight was able to view Iroko’s tax payment record, which shows that the money has not been paid. Inquiries for responses from Iroko and the LRA were not answered, even after months of notice. The main officer of the community forest, Bartee Togba, affirmed what the locals had said. Villagers in the woods on the Grand Kru border reported counting more than 60 logs, according to Togba. He remarked, “There were more logs,” and that more would be counted.
Last year, after the second of two DayLight inspections, the FDA said it would look into Iroko’s abandoning of the logs, but it never did. Requests for comment were not answered by the regulator. Iroko paid US$173,432 to the Liberian government in July and August of last year for export, land leasing, and other expenses. But according to the evidence, the corporation owes US$16,263 in land leasing costs to the government.
Iroko requested payment of the remaining amount owed in September and October from the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) in August of that year of which the LRA concurred.
The terms and conditions of the agreement stated that “should we fail to comply with this agreement, the Ministry of Justice may be tasked with pursuing the unpaid tax and/or obtaining a court order to confiscate and sell our property.”
However, Iroko’s tax payment record, which The DayLight was able to view, shows that the money has not been paid. Despite months of warning, neither Iroko nor the LRA responded to requests for comment.
Credit: This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
Photo credit: The Liberia Investigator
