Forest Dev. Committee Cries For Land Rental Fees: Petitions National Legislature The Community Forest Development Committee has expressed what it called grave disappointment in the Liberian government over its failure to fully collect and disburse the communities thirty percent share of the Land Rental Fees in a timely and transparent manner. The Committee said this action by government is a complete violation of the law noting that government and logging companies continued act with total disregard for the rights of communities where logging concessions are operating. Presenting a petition statement at the Capitol Building, the National Chairman of the Union of Community Forest Development Committee, Matthew Walley, said their petition follows a planning and action conference with representatives of the Community Forest Development Committee and National Benefit Sharing Trust Board. Chairman Walley said the conference was convened to discuss and find solution specifically to issues affecting the transfer of community share to Land Rental Fees into the National Benefit and Sharing Trsut Board. Mr. Walley said this move by government and logging companies to ignore the meaningful participation of communities in forest governance is a threat to their activities inspite of the National Forestry Reform Law of 2006 of Liberia which provides for informed participation of local communities in decision making processes regarding forest and forest resources. He said communities in the operating vicinity of logging concessions have been denied entitlements to their thirty percent share of the Land Rental Fees which logging companies have paid to government each contract effective date. Mr. Walley said logging companies are not fulfilling most of the terms agreed in the Social Agreements they signed with affected communities on one hand and the government failure to date to fully collect and disbursed the thirty percent share of the Land rental Fees that has been allotted to affected communities. He noted that the failure of some logging companies to paid Annual Land Rental Fees is a breach on the part of their contract with government amounts to termination of said contract an action government must institute without any or favor. According to Mr. Walley the Forest Management Contract (FMC) and Timber Sale owe Areas Fees totaling more than US$10million from 2009 to 201 noting noted that failure of government to collect Areas Fees annually as required by law has placed the forest reform process in jeopardy. He said civil society oragnizations working in the forest sector will continue pressurize the government through all legal means to make sure their demands are met appropriately. He intimated that they will engage government at all levels local national and international to ensure that it pay the land rental fees and seek fir funding to assist CFDC to facilitate the process of arbitration if the government refuses to pay the fees. Mr. Walley said the Community Forest development Committee has at the same time called on the Forestry Development Authority mandate the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Liberia to respect the forestry legal frame work related to community share of forest revenues. He added the that petition also urged the FDA as the regulatory arm of government in all forest matters to do everything in its power to for communities to receive their thirty percent share of the land rental fees according to the forestry framework of 2006 as well as do due diligence to on existing and financial capacity to execute contracts or cancel non performing one or revoke licenses. “We are calling on members of the National Legislature who are the direct representative of the people to summon the Forestry Development Authority, Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Liberia to prevail on them to transfer community share of the land rental fees into the National benefit and Trust Board accounts Mr. Walley said in an angry mood”. Receiving the petition on behalf of Lofa Representative Moses Kollie, Chairman on Investment and Concession Chief of Office Staff Danwolo Catakaw said the office of lawmaker wholeheartedly welcome their concerns raised by the Community Forest Development Committee and promised transmit the communication to the relevant committee for appropriate readdress.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 13:09:38 +0000
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