The Forestry Commission has refuted reports alleging that timber utilisation contracts (TUCs) were illegally granted in Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs).
According to the Commission, all such contracts were issued by the ministry, and no contracts have been legally executed.
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Addressing the issue, Dr Hugh Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, clarified that between 2023 and 2024, 11 companies were granted timber utilisation contracts by the ministry.
He emphasised, however, that no Forestry Commission official has the authority to independently grant such contracts.
“The reportage you mentioned is totally false. All the timber utilisation contracts with respect to the GSBAs were issued by the ministry in 2023 and 2024. No Forestry Commission Chief Executive or anybody else has the authority to grant timber utilisation contracts or enter into timber utilisation contracts,” he said.
Dr Brown explained that while serving as Executive Director of the Forest Services Division, he imposed strict conditions before any company could commence operations.
He insisted that field assessments and parliamentary ratification, a legal requirement for TUCs, must be completed before logging activities could begin.
“At the time, I was the Executive Director of the Forest Services Division, and I insisted that before anyone with such a contract from the ministry could operate, certain field assessments had to be undertaken and key processes completed.
“A number of them attempted to go through the system, but the final hurdle I put in place was parliamentary ratification, because TUCs must be ratified by Parliament; that is the law. As we speak, not even one of these companies has been able to fulfil all the conditions I put in place as Executive Director,” he added.
Addressing specific claims, Dr Brown noted that a July directive from the minister instructed the Commission to suspend permit processing, particularly for a company identified as Supremo, which had been asked to pay timber rights fees.
He further described reports suggesting that the Forestry Commission was granting contracts as misleading, especially claims referencing “107 contracts.”
According to him, the figure referred to 107 compartments within a single timber allocation, not separate contracts.
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“The 107 referred to the number of compartments within the allocation. It cannot be, nobody here can issue 107 contracts to a single company,” he stressed.
MAG/MA
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