TIMBER COY RIPS GOV`T OF GH¢BN Forestry C`ssion probes Dupaul`s illegal activities in Subri Reserve

The Western Regional Secretariat of the Forestry Service Department (FSD), is to investigate the circumstances under which Dupaul Wood Treatment (DWT), a Takoradi based timber processing company, entered the Subri Forest Reserve and felled a large number of trees which cost runs into several billions of Ghana cedis, without the approval of the Forestry Commission.The decision follows an earlier petition sent to the FSD by a whistleblower, which the former, under the administration of Mr. J. E. Manu set up a seven member committee to investigate, but failed to make any recommendations.

The said committee, chaired by Mr. J. M Ocansey in their first interim report after field investigation, concluded that until the reporter (whistleblower) joins and leads the team to the exact locations of the buffer zone and stumps of the illegally felled trees, it would be a wild-goose chase. It also noted that another field inspection/investigation would be conducted as soon as the reporter (whistleblower) avails himself to accompany the team to the field.

The whistle blower, Mr. Boakye Yiadom, a former employee of DWT, petitioned the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forest Commission (FC), complaining about the illegal felling of timber logs at the buffer zone in the Subri Forerst Reserve.

The said petition was headed - Illegal Felling of Trees in Compartment 407, 400,397 and Between Compartment 407 and 408 - in the Buffer Zone of Subri Forest Reserve under Takoradi Forest District by Messer Dupaul Wood Treatment Ghana Limited. The petitioner wrote: The company that Messer Dupaul Wood Treatment Ghana Limited illegally fell the following number of trees in the said compartment and they are as follows;

Between Compartment 407 and 408 Buffer Zone SPP ABR QUANTITY Nyankom HER 46 Dahoma PIP 32 Mahogany KI 8 Odum MIL 5 Avodire TUR 4 Kusia NAU I

The whistleblower indicated that he was prepared to show the FDS stumps of the trees felled by the company - I wish to state that I can show your outfit the stumps at their various locations, he said. The seven member committee then invited the whistleblower who escorted the investigation team to the stumps sites, where the logs were alleged to have been illegally exploited under heavy police protection. The second Interim report presented by the seven member committee concluded that "upon thorough deliberation by the team members, it was agreed that the inspection should be suspended and the compartment boundaries should be re-opened before the next visit. The committee ordered for the re-opening of the compartment boundary for further assessment of the illegally exploited trees.

That was in 2006, and since then the work of the committee has been halted.

The Chronicle has, however, laid hands on documents which point to the fact that there was a clandestine deal between some top management of DWT to deliberately and illegally exploit the forest buffer zone by felling illegal logs from the zone, without paying a pesewa to the government.

In a secret memo bearing the letter head of DWT under the subject - Harvesting of Trees in Buffer Zone at Subri Forest Reserveí, and signed by one A. A. T. Worman, who is incharge of Raw and Poles Extraction of the DWT revealed that we have negotiated with the District Forestry, Takoradi to harvest the following trees located in the buffer zone at Subri Forest Reserve at the normal price per cubic meter we offer to log suppliers.

Mahogany-55 Dahoma-51 Mahogany-9 Kusia-3 Makore-1 Kake-12 Avodire-15 Chenchen-9 Edinam-4 Odum-1 Subaha-2 Ofram-7 Esia-4 Bompeya-1 Kokore-2.

We have also agreed to mill fifty percent of the Dahoma, and the rest used to offset our milling expenses. The secret memo was addressed to the Finance Manager, Mr. Kingsly Amoah.

The Finance Manager of DWT, Kingsley Amoah, in his reply wrote: Your memo of 29th March 2005 refers; Since DWT shall be responsible for payment of stumpage fees for the trees to be extracted from the buffer zone, the price we offer should make provision for this. We cannot, therefore, offer the same price as to our log supplier. We shall, therefore, offer the price indicated below against the species;

Niangen - 650,000. Mahogany - 700, 00 Kussia - 300 Makore - 800.00 Kako - 400.00 Avodire - 400.00 Gurea - 350.00 Emire - 350.00 Chenchen - 250.00 Edinam - 350.00 Odum - 650.00 Offam - 200.00 Essia - 200.00 Bompagya - 200.00 Kokote - 200.00 Yaya - 200.00

The memo concluded thus Please note that only 50% of all Dahoma logs delivered to us shall be invoiced at ¢120. /m3. The difference of ¢180.00 shall cover milling charges in respect of the other 50%.

Whilst this allegation, which seems to have faulted some staff members of the Takoradi office of the FDS for compromising their position is yet to be fully investigated, Mr. Samuel Gyasi, a former Accountant of the company, has also sent a petition to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources to investigate the illegal felling of logs at the same Subri forest reserve by DWT.

According to him, he was initially employed in the DWT as an Account clerk and later promoted to a Principal Accountant position, and served the company for a period of 14 years. While serving the company in his capacity as a Principal Accountant, he said "I noticed some malpractices among some senior officers in the company, which I questioned.

He continued that two senior management officers (names withheld) were unhappy about his intervention on the ëillegal connectionsí and he was served with a notice of transfer to Offinso plantation.

Three top management members of the company - Mr. Kingsly Amoah, Finance Manager, A. A. T. Warman, Raw Logs and Extraction Manager and Mr. Wilcox Awortwe, Human Resource Manager, who were contacted by this reporter, denied that DWT illegally extracted the trees from the buffer zone of the reserve. They however refused to go into further details.

The regional Manager of the FSD, Mr. Kwakye Ameyaw who has promised to investigate the deal told The Chronicle that documents he had sighted seem to suggest that some illegal activities went on, and that investigations would have to be conducted into the case.

To him, it was illegal for any company or individual to enter a buffer zone to fell timber species.