-Ex-Lawmaker, wife others allegedly deprive locals of Forest Benefits?
By Moses R. Quollin, quollinmoses@gmail.com
+231770922412/+231880922412 (Liberia Forest Media Watch)
The Fate of ordinary dwellers, inhabitants of Doru Forest Community lies in limbo as persistent issues of leadership controversies coupled with illegalities and alleged mismanagement of their forest, resources appear to be dragging for long period after another, almost a decade now.
Fingers have been pointed at former Nimba County District #6 Representative, Ricks Toweh and wife (owner of Liberia Tree & Trading Corporation-LTTC, operator of the forest) along with some former and current officials of the government including local authorities within the county, district nine (9).
Recent efforts to resolve the conflicting issues, the December’s much anticipated meeting which brought together stakeholders (including FDA officials, Rep. Johnson Gwaikolo’s office) and other concern parties did not yield fathomable result as was expected.
Disappointed sources in the community told the Liberia Forest Media Watch (LFMW) that they are tired of listening to “further pretense” by the government despite efforts applied through the Court and the Forestry Development Authority (FDA).
Following continuous protests at FDA headquarters in Monrovia, the district lawmaker at the House of Representatives, Johnson Gwaikolo along with FDA Managing Director C. Mike Doyen arranged a date for meeting with all parties, residents in the chiefdom in early December 2019.
This Medium was deceived by Representative Johnson Gwaikolo’s senior office staff following a visit at the District #9 lawmaker’s office on Capitol Hill to query on the rigmaroles within Doru Chiefdom.
However, most of the contacts spoken with in the chiefdom expressed disappointment in the government of Liberia, FDA for what they believed to be a “continuous delay or gross refusal by local authorities” to secure their benefits from Liberia Tree and Trading Corporation (LTTC).
“Everything remains at standstill here; our forest has been held hostage whilst they [the leadership] show more interest in their personal survival.”
The entire Gbi & Doru district, Nimba County, District #9 is to some extent disconnected from others areas due too bad road, poor health facility, very poor network, mobile connectivity and any other basic amenities one may think of.
In 2010, the Liberia Tree and Trading Cooperation (LTTC) and the people of Doru Chiefdom, through the Chiefdom’s Community Forest Management Body (CFMB) entered into a community forest agreement for the duration of 25 years.
It was agreed that logging operations upon the signing of all relevant documents with the land government agencies and the issuance of logging permit by the FDA in keeping with the community rights law of 2009, the LTTC shall pay US$2.50 per hectare annually to the Doru Chiefdom representing land rental for the use of the 36,700 forest land.
The document mandates the LTTC to construct one clinic and a school—elementary and a high school—for the community at an estimated cost of US$85,000. It also demands the company to construct a second clinic after six years of operations.
According to the documents, a copy of which are our possession, at LFMW, out of the US$85,000, US$50,000 should be used for the construction of the high school, while remaining US$35,000 should be used for the construction of the elementary school.
The agreement also calls for the construction of five pit latrines and five hand pumps in the community and to be designated by the people of the chiefdom.
But members of the community, accused the former District 6 lawmaker and his company of failing to meet up with any of the agreement in the MOU since the company started its logging operations in the Doru Forest in 2010.
According to Sources at FDA, 45% of 800,000 LTTC owed belongs to the government. The governing structure of the forest has been engulfed with conflict over allegations of corruption, mismanagements or lack of accountability and power struggles which surfaced in court.
On the other hand, the LTTC management through Madam Yonyon Johnson Toweh, maintained that, prior to going into court, the chiefdom received materials for the construction of a number of hand pumps for the community through the CFMB chief officer, Sisco Gbortoe.
Local media quoted her as saying the two schools promised are nearing completion.
On the US$50,000 (fifty thousand USD), when the company realized that there was confusion, she reportedly gave the money to (FDA) to better deal with the issues.
Additionally, the LTTC management argued that they have paid about US$100.000 (One hundred thousand United States dollars) into government’s account through LRA as part of the government’s revenue.
The Liberia Forest Media Watch (LFMW) has been unsuccessful in verifying claims attributed to Liberia Tree & Trading Corporation (LTTC), due to poor communication strategy on the part of LTTC and the government, FDA.
The case went to the court on about three different occasions. the Court mandated FDA to set up and chair a board of arbitration, all parties need to be represented on the board but again it appeared miserable FDA complains of too many challenges.
According to witnesses, the signing of the Doru-LTTC contract agreement was marred with too many controversies yet endorsed by FDA.
Sources say LTTC, for some other reasons best known to authorities at FDA, did not go through the 9 steps checklist in acquiring an authorized forest status. “It was one of the pilot projects,” FDA’s Senior Extension officer told LFMW.
Under the CRL, forest communities are required to go through a rigorous process, the 9-Steps process to obtaining an Authorized Community Forest (AFC) status, ranging from conducting a survey of the relevant forestland to forming a governance body that secures communities’ benefits. With that, a community can enter into any agreement of choice (Conversation or Commercial Forestry) as maybe define in the approved bylaw and constitution.
FDA’s board of directors, by then, passed a resolution giving Gbi/Doru an AFC status without taking into account the embarrassments being experienced now.
Meanwhile, observers have blamed authorities within the forestry sector and officials of the administration of Nimba County for masterminding the conflict from the very beginning of certification of the Doru Community Forest.
Observations of Global Witness and other integrity institutions assert that Mr. Ricks Toweh and LTTC should never have been allowed to operate in the forest sector.
A well-researched report released by Global Witness captioned “Holding the Line” following the Doru certification states the following (some of which may have changed since publication in 2017):
“As of April 2012, Nyunyun Toweh – wife of Representative Ricks Toweh – was Acting President of LTTC, and as of August 2016 remained the company’s main point of contact. As early as 2008 and possibly as late as March 2012 LTTC was headed by Representative Ricks Toweh himself.
Representative Toweh took his seat in the Liberian Legislature in January 2012. LTTC was awarded FMC C in 2008. It is illegal for Liberian Legislators or their family members to hold logging contracts.
In 2015, logging companies were required to provide LEITI with a list of their ultimate, or “beneficial” owners. Both LTTC and Mandra failed to provide such a report to LEITI.
As of November 2016, LTTC owed the Liberian government US$ 688,660 in rental fees and arrears from previously-unpaid fees for FMC C. The company has consistently failed to pay its financial obligations since it was first awarded its contract, in 2008.
LTTC has obtained sub-contracts for two CFMAs – CFMA 4 and CFMA Doru – to avoid laws requiring that companies bid on licenses greater than 49,999 ha. Separately, Gbi and Doru are 31,155 ha and 36,913 ha in size, and were they to be truly separate licenses, one company would be permitted to operate in both. However, together the CFMAs total 68,068 ha and the two should be treated as one license.
The CFMAs are located very close to one-another, and were both awarded in July 2011 following a request from LTTC that the FDA map the two CFMA areas at the same time.
Obtaining logging rights to a 68,068 ha CFMA license without bidding is illegal.
The Doru CFMB did not prepare the Doru CFMA. The CFMA was signed in 2011 by three individuals who are not CFMB members. A CFMA is invalid if it is not prepared by a CFMB.
The processes by which the participatory mapping and socio-economic documentation processes were conducted for CFMA Doru are patently inadequate.
The FDA’s “Validation Report,” which describes the CFMA Doru mapping process, states that the entire 36,193 ha CFMA was mapped during a nine-day trip to the region.
According to the FDA, during the same period the five-person team also undertook a socioeconomic profile reconnaissance survey. It is not possible that this team undertook participatory mapping and socio-economic documentation processes covering an area of 372 km2 and with a perimeter of 118 km in nine days, suggesting either that these processes were not conducted adequately or did not occur at all.
A CFMA is invalid if these processes are not conducted adequately.Fundamental decisions relating to CFMA Doru were not made with the free, prior, and informed consent of the community.
In 2013 interviews conducted by Global Witness, Doru community members stated that their leaders were rushed into signing agreements with LTTC.
No community members interviewed either possessed copies of the CFMA or were aware of the terms of agreements with the logging company. Logging agreements signed without the free, prior, and informed consent of communities are illegal. As of September 2016, LTTC owed the Liberian government US$ 277,447 in rental fees for CFMA Doru.
And Similarly from SDI (2010) A promise Betrayed: {In the bidding for FMC C in 2008] LTTC, for example, was not qualified to bid but was allowed to participate in the bid in violation of the National Forestry Reform Law (2006) and the PPCC Act.51 Ricks Toweh, chief executive officer of LTTC, owed the government more than U$100,000 in forestry-related tax arrears.
The investigation continues.