Top: The unfinished guesthouse in Karquekpo, Sinoe County. Picture credit: Anonymous
By Esau J. Farr
KARQUEKPO, Sinoe County – The People who own the Central River Dugbe Community Forest had hoped that they would get a guesthouse for their Independence Day celebration—or their “26.”
A Nigerian-owned Iroko Timber and Logging Company leased 13,193 hectares of land from the leadership of the forest in exchange for the guesthouse and other benefits.
But photographs and a video The DayLight obtained captured on Thursday show the project barely at window level.
“Nobody is expecting the keys to that building tomorrow,” said Cyrus Kartor, a youth leader in Karquekpo, where the guesthouse is being constructed.
Bartee Togba, the chief officer of the forest in Sinoe’s Jaedae District, had said the guesthouse was being completed in less than a day. “They are working there presently as I speak to you. Tomorrow (July 26) they may also go to work. I am sure,” Togba said.
The pictures and video show there has been no work at the construction site for some time.
The guesthouse is one of several projects Iroko is required to conduct, according to the contract. It was initially expected to be turned over to locals in October last year but was extended by nine months.
The unfinished dirt block guesthouse indicates Iroko’s lack of capacity to run a community forest. Recent DayLight investigations found Iroko owes locals land rental, harvesting and others to the community, while it has abandoned an unspecified number of logs.
Another view of the unfinished guesthouse. Picture credit: Anonymous
An earlier DayLight investigation uncovered Iroko was unqualified for logging when the FDA approved its contract in 2021. Its majority shareholder, Timothy Odebunmi, is linked to another company, Akewa, which was fined for fraud in 2019.
A forestry regulation disqualifies companies whose shareholders have been involved in an act of public dishonesty for five years.
This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
Top: An Iroko Timber and Logging Company log yard outside Greenville, Sinoe County. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
By Esau J. Farr
KARQUEKPO, Sinoe County – In early 2022, there were widespread jubilations across the eight towns that own Central River-Dugbe Community Forest. They had leased the 13,193-hectare woodland to Iroko Timber and Logging Corporation for 15 years in exchange for development benefits.
But more than two years later, Iroko failed to live up to the agreement. It owes the villagers a huge debt and required projects.
“Our expectation was to bring development to our district and various towns…, including schools, clinics and safe drinking water for our people,” Alexander Slah, a member of the community leadership, said. “I am actually disappointed.”
As it stands, Iroko owes the Central River Dugbe Community US$20,368, based on interviews and official records. These fees include land rental, educational support, volunteer teachers and forest protection. Unpaid harvesting fees stand at US$8,927, according to official records.
The harvesting fees could be higher. Iroko declared 523 logs constituting 3,570.848 cubic meters, official records show. However, it abandoned some of the logs in the forest, locals say. Bartee Togba, the head of the community’s leadership, said he and other townspeople would scale the wood to determine Iroko’s full debt.
Besides unpaid fees, Iroko has failed to undertake contractual projects. It has not constructed five hand pumps it should have completed by last year, according to the contract.
Two Iroko machines in Polay Town, one of the communities that own the Central River Dugbe Community Forest. The DayLight/James Giahyue
“Instead of installing the hand pumps between November and March, the company started in June to August. So, the water table goes low during the dry season…,” Slah said. Arthur Nagbe, a religious leader in Karquekpo, corroborated his account.
Iroko is yet to construct three boundary roads connected to Karquekpo and a guesthouse, which should have all been completed last October. The renovation of an elementary school and the construction of a library that should have been completed this December, according to the agreement, have not also started.
‘Handpicked’
Like Iroko’s external failures, there are indications of internal disappointments since its establishment in July 2021.
Iroko targets 100,000 hectares in 15 years but cannot even manage 13,193 hectares so far. The firm projected production of 50,000 cubic meters of logs as of this year but has produced only 3,570 cubic meters of logs since 2022, official records show.
It declared that it owned eight earthmovers and leased nine others. However, it has been seen with way fewer. One old machine is at the log yard near Greenville and two others were parked in Polay Town after Karquekpo.
Togba criticized the FDA for the Iroko situation. “They (FDA) must know that they have equipment that is up to standard but these things were not done,” he said.
But townspeople The DayLight interviewed blamed the community leadership for choosing Iroko. They said community leaders who vetted Iroko did not have the experience to do so. “They were handpicked,” said Ernest Slah, a resident, in an interview on Somalia Drive, outside Monrovia.
Togba dismisses that claim. He claims only the government has the responsibility to vet companies, though locals have that right in community forest.
Iroko is a new company and did not have a track record at the time it signed the Central River Dugbe contract but its majority shareholder, Timothy Odebunmi, was a red flag. The Nigerian has a record of persistent, perennial indebtedness to communities through his other company, Akewa.
Akewa had owed communities hundreds of thousands of United States dollars for over a decade. One of its contracts was cancelled with unpaid fees and another has been embroiled in a lengthy debt-related out-of-court settlement.
Timothy Odebunmi, the majority shareholder in Iroko Timber and Logging Company, also owns a fifth of Akewa Group of Companies’ shares. His ownership in the latter company disqualified the former from logging activities in Liberia. Facebook/Timothy Odebunmi
That aside, Odebunmi’s shares in Iroko disqualified the company from conducting logging activities in Liberia at the time of the Central River Dugbe contract. Odebunmi has a 20-percent stake in Akewa Group of Companies, which was fined for forgery in 2019. The FDA’s Regulation on Bidder Qualifications rules out companies whose owners are linked to public dishonesty for five years. The FDA ignored that rule and prequalified Iroko.
Lied under oath
Iroko shrugs off claims and indications of struggling to live up to its contract and denies any wrongdoing.
“We don’t know what constitutes a ‘capacity issue’ from your point of view, and can, therefore, not address your question,” Iroko said in an email.
“We would like to state that Mr. Timothy Odebunmi is not aware of having own a share in Akewa, and also Mr. Timothy [Odebunmi] has no knowledge of any tax clearance forgery issue as alleged,” it added.
Iroko’s claims are not factual. More than one year ago, The DayLight exposed Odebunmi’s connection to Akewa in which the newspaper emailed the company about its findings. Moreover, a recent review of the forestry sector lists Odebunmi as an Akewa shareholder.
Iroko’s machine photographed in its log yard near Greenville. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr
Iroko might have avoided the capacity issue. However, everything about the company’s operations is suggestive of a struggle for survival.
Two months ago, the FDA approved the export permit of Iroko to sell over 2,600 cubic meters but it has not exported the consignment. It has not exported any of the logs it harvested nearly two years ago. A recent DayLight investigation found the logs are abandoned, as some six months have passed since they were harvested, the longest period a log should stay anywhere before export. The FDA said it would investigate the abandoned logs accusation.
The FDA argued it approved Iroko’s contract because it had no list of debarred companies or individuals. The regulator further said it could not enforce the qualification regulation because Iroko did not bid for Central River Dugbe.
Those assertions are not backed by law. While the regulation requires the FDA to form a debarment and suspension list, it does not restrict a company or individual’s eligibility to the list. An individual’s eligibility is covered under the prequalification criteria, the standard for that person’s participation in logging activities.
The fact Iroko was prequalified with Odebunmi’s stakes shows that the company lied under oath. Per the regulation, the Nigerian firm should be prosecuted for perjury. The FDA referenced that provision when it certificated Iroko: “Any statement made under oath to the panel that is found to be false renders this certificate null and void.”
Locals are running out of patience over Iroko’s delay in meeting its contract obligations. They have planned a meeting to discuss their future with the company after the Independence Day celebrations. Some have already made up their minds.
“We are disappointed because the company failed us,” said Arthur Nagbe, a community leader. “I don’t even want to work with them again.”
This story was a production of Forest and Environmental Journalists (CoFEJ).
Top: The Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Gbarnga, Bong County. The DayLight/Wilmot Konah
By Rebazar D. Forte
GBARNGA, Bong County – The Forestry Development Authority aborted its process to obtain a court order to seize thousands of timber abandoned by smugglers at the Central Agriculture Research Institute (CARI).
Multiple sources told The DayLight that the FDA would petition the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Gbarnga last Monday for the warrant, the first step in confiscating the wood.
Before then, Deputy Managing Director Gertrude Nyaley had appeared to have corroborated that information when she gave a hint on the Forest Hour radio show on Okay FM.
When Cllr. Yanquoi Dolo, the FDA’s lawyer, arrived at the court on Monday, July 8, at 10:20 am, it looked like the process had begun. The FDA’s Lawyer entered the courthouse and exited it about 15 minutes later, according to our reporter.
Dolo declined an interview with The DayLight, hopped into a white vehicle, and left the courtyard.
Daniel Porlenkollie, the court’s clerk, confirmed that the FDA had not sought a warrant from the court.
The atmosphere at CARI was similar to that of the court. A police vehicle tried to enter the area where the illegally harvested planks were but did not. The vehicle left the area after honking for minutes, an indication of an abruptly aborted plan.
Dr. James Dolo, CARI’s officer in charge, said he was unaware of any plan by the FDA to seize the wood.
“The only team that came here was the Crime [Service] Division, based in Gbarnga,” he told The DayLight. They came to make a follow up on the Chinese guys who operated here in the fence, a group from the Economic Crimes Division,” Dr. James Dolo added. The division did not immediately respond to queries.
Cllr. Yanquoi Dolo, the FDA’s lawyer, entered the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court on Monday, July 8, 2024, reportedly to seek a warrant to seize thousands of timber at the Central Agriculture Research Institute but abandoned the plan shortly after. The DayLight/Rebazar Forte
It would have been the first time the FDA had enforced the Regulation on Confiscated Logs, Timber and Timber Products since it was formulated in 2017.
Under the regulation, the regulator must seek a court warrant to auction the planks. However, to do so, it must obtain court warrants to seize and confiscate the timber. If the planks are unsold at the auction, they must be given to the community or civil society.
The smugglers face a fine of thrice the value of the planks, a six-month prison term, or both fine and imprisonment upon a conviction.
The DayLight investigation discovered the network’s ringleaders were two Chinese Chaolong Zhong and Guoping Zhang, a Turkish Mehmet Onder Erem, and a Liberian named Terrence Collins.
The traffickers ran a company called CTL Industries in the China Aid compound of CARI for over two years. They purchased timber from Lofa, Nimba and vendors in Suakoko, Bong County, and processed and smuggled the wood via containers, the investigation found.
A screengrab of LiberTrace shows CTL Industries has never paid a dime for timber export, further proof of its trafficking activities.
Pictures and documents obtained by The DayLight show CTL trafficked timber in containers with the help of about 33 workers.
However, they halted their operations just before last year’s elections, abandoning an unspecified number of planks and equipment.
Records of LiberTrace, Liberia’s timber-tracking computer system, show no activities for CTL Industries, further proof of the illegality of its activities.
A collage featuring timber CTL Industries trafficked the abandoned at the Central Agriculture Research Institute (CARI) in Suakoko, Bong County. The DayLight/Rebazar D. Forte
This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
Top: The Capitol Building on Capitol Hill in Monrovia. The DayLight/Harry Browne
By Gabriel M. Dixon
HARRISBURG, Montserrado – An inquiry by the Committee on Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Environment of the House of Representatives found a quarry company polluted Harrisburg, validating a DayLight investigation.
The unpublished report, seen by The DayLight, found that the Z&C Investment Company rock quarry caused air, water and noise pollution in the Rural Montserrado township, established in the early 1800s by freed slaves from the United States of America.
The committee’s report acknowledged the distress of families, damages to homes and destruction of crops caused by Z&C’s operations.
The committee also found that the company did not have directional signs to warn residents and passersby of possible danger. It did not hire a safety or liaison officer between the company and the affected communities. There was a fuel spillage in the environment, and the committee found the company lacked functional toilets for workers.
Z&C’s quarry has been in Harrisburg for more than a decade, polluting the community’s land, water and air. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
Z&C Investment Company, a Chinese-owned rock quarry got its license in 2012 from the Ministry of Mines and Energy to operate in Harrisburg. The company’s mining license covers 50 hectares in the rural Montserrado township. It is required to operate in line with Liberian laws, including mining and environmental regulations.
“I do understand everything they have said”, Stanley Gaye, Z&C’s human resource manager said in response to complaints against his company. “We say sorry and pray that we will take action.”
The committee recommended that Z&C pay US$15,000 a year to affected communities and put in place measures to curtail dust pollution. It ordered a review of the agreement between Z&C and residents. “Community members need to get a clear understanding of the agreement,” said Representative Anthony Williams of Maryland County, the committee’s head.
The lawmakers urged Z&C to provide the blasting report and profile of its engineers, ensure safety officers are always stationed on-site, and that the company informs the community two days before a blasting operation. It also included a call to introduce good housekeeping in and around the facility, provide a well-functioning latrine for workers and visitors and renegotiate the resettlement of a family that is closest to the facility.
The Sirleaf family is the most affected among the victims of the Z&C operations. Their house is located less than seven meters away from the rock-crushing plant. Frank Sirleaf, head of the family, said the company coerced his aunt, who is not literate, into signing an agreement.
“We have to do what is needed for which I cannot back the company,” Gaye said. “Z&C will work in compliance with the recommendations from the lawmakers.”
The committee report, however, failed to recommend punishment for Z&C Investment Company, a global best practice. The Environmental Protection and Management Law imposes a fine of up to US$25,000 or a 10-year prison term, or both fine and imprisonment, reinforcing the polluter-pays principle.
An open pit in Harrisburg due to Z&C Investment Corporation. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
The DayLight publication had drawn the attention of lawmakers last month and led to a visit of a four-man committee.
During their visit, members of the committee along with residents and local chiefs had toured Z&C’s facility including its quarry plant. Members of the committee include Representatives Luther Collins of Gbarpolu, Jeremiah Sokan of Grand Gedeh, and Rugie Barry of Montserrado. Nelson Jallah, an environmental expert with the committee, also formed part of the delegation.
“We quizzed the people, [and] we quizzed the company and realized that the company falls short of those basic… responsibilities that it said it was going to complete,” Williams told The DayLight on the margins of the meeting.
At a meeting, the committee heard pollution from the rocks-crushing plant was taking a toll on residents’ crops and mine explosions cracked their houses. The blasting had damaged the Harrisburg Public School and the Lutheran School, endangering the lives of students and teachers. Years of quarry left big open holes in the area, corroborating The DayLight’s investigation.
The United States Embassy in Monrovia provided funding for this story. The DayLight maintained editorial independence over the story’s content.
Top: Masayaha’s bridge in Gbargbo, River Cess County breaks the FDA’s standards for a log bridge. The Ministry of Public Works disapproved of the construction. Picture credit: An anonymous villager
By Aaron Wesley Geezay
GARGBO VILLAGE, River Cess – Masayaha, a Lebanese-owned company, known for its repeated logging offenses, has harvested about 500 logs in River Cess County, outside of its area of operations.
In November 2021, Masayaha had a 15-year logging contract with the 43,792-hectare Bloquiah Community Forest in Gboe/Ploe Administrative District, Grand Gedeh County.
One year later, Masayaha entered a verbal logging deal with Gbargbo, a River Cess’ Norbor Clan village about 80 kilometers away from its contract area. Under the deal, villagers would allow the company to harvest the logs and build a temporary bridge over the Cestos River, which would later be transformed into a partial concrete structure.
The log bridge was good news for both parties.
Masayaha needed it to transport logs from Grand Gedeh to Grand Bassa since heavy vehicles were disallowed to use the Timbo River Bridge between Sinoe and River Cess.
The villagers saw the bridge as an opportunity to connect the Norbor Clan in the Yarnee District to the Kploh Chiefdom in the Central River Cess Administrative District.
“They asked us to allow them to cut 250 pieces of logs to fix the bridge,” Samuel Gbargbo, a resident of Gbargbo Village, told The DayLight. “And because we have been suffering for the road we agreed.”
Masayaha abandoned several logs on this field and other areas in Gbargbo Village it illegally harvested last year. The DayLight/Aaron Geezay
‘The people… fooled us’
Per the agreement, Masayaha paid the community US$1,500 and began harvesting. However, the logs were insufficient to complete the bridge so the parties signed another verbal agreement. This time, Masayaha only paid US$700, with the remaining US$800 yet to be paid, our investigation found.
And there were other problems. There was no concrete component of the bridge as Masayaha had promised. The bridge had been completed over a year ago, yet the company had failed to construct any concrete pillars. Besides, it abandoned several logs that they felled in Gbargbo’s forest.
This and the debt issue angered the villagers, who threatened to protest.
“The people came and fooled us and made us work for nothing,” said Melvin Wolloh, town chief of Norbor Clan.
Ali Harkous, Masayaha’s CEO and owner, said the Forestry Development Authority permitted it. “We applied to FDA to permit us to get the logs from around the area and they approved and we also approached community and they agreed,” Harkous said. He refused to share a copy with The DayLight or allow this reporter to see it.
A stump of a tree in Gbargbo Village, River Cess County Masayaha illegally harvested last year. The DayLight/Aaron Geezay
Harkous would not speak to the villagers’ claim but budged after persistent inquiry. “Frankly, tell them they should not worry, we are going to give [them] their money.
“We invested all we have and credited from some financial institutions. We are really into [a] financial problem,” Harkous said.
Harkous was right. The FDA permitted Masayaha to harvest logs for the bridge. However, his company grossly violated the permit’s terms.
The document and other papers, the FDA provided, did not permit Masayaha to harvest logs in River Cess, but rather Sinoe County. Two letters written by then-Senator Milton Teahjay of Sinoe County and Bloquiah Community Forest, seen by The DayLight, mentioned the Tarjuwon District.
Also, the permit ordered Masayaha to work with the FDA staff in that area to identify targeted trees and calculate the volume logs for the project. That, too, did not happen.
FDA’s record of the Masayaha felling in Gbargbo Village shows that the company felled 200 trees, not 500 the villagers said.
Then of the 200 logs, 62 were untagged, according to the FDA record. Similarly, the logs on the bridge, on an open field on the riverbank and in the bushes were untagged. Even the tree stumps this reporter photographed were missing obligatory tags.
The DayLight photographed several untagged logs abandoned by Masayaha in Gbargbo Village, River Cess. The DayLight/Aaron Geezay
The dates on the harvesting record and the communications are inconsistent, further proof of a dishonest operation. It shows rangers identified targeted trees on November 29, 2022—William V.S. Tubman’s birthday—for the harvesting. However, Masayaha’s request and the FDA’s response were written in December and January, respectively. This reveals that rangers had already counted, and tagged some of the trees before the FDA approved the harvesting.
Roadside logging
It is not the first time Masayaha has harvested logs outside its contract area. In 2022, a DayLight investigation exposed Masayaha’s illegal logging activities outside the Worr Community Forest in Grand Bassa County, where it exploited villagers’ need for roads. The report cited an August 2021 FDA publication in which investigators found evidence Masayaha connived with locals to steal timber. No actions were taken against the company for those activities, despite a protest.
William Pewu, FDA’s technical manager for commercial forestry, said Masayaha would go scot-free for its Gbargbo Village activities. Pewu claims the FDA does not record the logs in LiberTrace, a computer system that verifies the legality of timber.
“No, those logs are not for sale,” Pewu told The DayLight in an interview last week. “You only enroll logs in LiberTrace when they are for export. Those logs are for [a] bridge construction.”
Pewu’s comments are not backed by facts. The phrase “chain of custody” covers everything from “transport, interim storage, processing, distribution, and export.” In short, it extends from a log’s “source of origin in the forest to [its] end use.”
Furthermore, roadside logging does not derive from any law or regulation. In fact, in 2009, the FDA even fined a company for harvesting a hundred logs along a path outside a concession in Grand Bassa, according to a United Nations report. A 2017 regulation imposes a fine of twice the value of logs harvested outside a contract, a six-month prison term, or both fine and imprisonment upon a conviction. Other penalties include forfeiture of harvesting rights or a logging contract.
Masayaha illegally harvested over 500 logs from the Gbargbo Village in River Cess, 80 kilometers outside a Grand Gedeh forest, where it has a contract. The DayLight/Aaron Geezay
Masayaha’s illegal operation in Gbargbo bears a remarkable resemblance to the one conducted by a company nearly a decade ago. In 2016, an investigation by the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) found that Liberia Hardwood Company (LHC) harvested many logs outside the Bloquiah Community Forest. Strangely, some of the logs were felled in the very Gbargbo Village.
The FDA admitted at the time that roadside logging was illegal but said the logging would continue while it addressed “gaps” in the regulation. It took no action against LHC, which denied any wrongdoing, and there is still no regulation for roadside logging.
‘Not possible’
The bridge built from the illegal logs is equally tainted. It violates the standards for bridge construction, per the Code of Harvesting Practices. The code requires a log bridge to be built on a high portion of a riverbank so as not to stop or interfere with the water’s flow.
Masayaha engineers placed the logs directly in the water, stalling its natural course, photographs of the construction show.
Ministry of Public Works did not authorize the construction, a contravention of the precondition the FDA set for the construction. The Ministry said it had disapproved of the construction.
“Approval/consent was not provided on the basis that the [width] of the Cestos River was [wider],” Minister Roland Layfette Giddings told The DayLight. By the ministry’s standard, it was not possible to construct a log bridge at the location under consideration.”
That violation has led to consequences. At the start of the rainy season, the Cestos River overflowed its banks, washing many logs away. Masayaha later repaired it. Masayaha has started to use the bridge to transport logs to Buchanan.
But Fishermen, who have fished on the river for generations, now have to lift their canoes over the controversial bridge to access the other side of the river.
The story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
Top: Iroko transferred most of the abandoned logs in February this year, one year and four months after they were harvested in the Central Dugbe River Community Forest. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
By Matenneh Keita and Esau J. Farr
KARQUEKPO, Sinoe County – In 2022, Timothy Odebunmi, joined two other Nigerian businessmen to establish Iroko Timber Logging Corporation in July 2021. Odebunmi has 50 percent shares, Samson Odebunmi, his relative, 45 percent, and Akinsiku Arinkan five percent.
The following year, Iroko signed a contract with the Central River Dugbe Community Forest. By October, it began harvesting logs in the 13,193-hectare woodland in Sinoe’s Jaedae District near the Grand Kru border.
It is unclear how many logs Iroko has felled. The FDA record shows 523 logs. However, Bartee Togba, the head of Central River Dugbe leadership, puts the number to about 700. Videos posted to Iroko’s Facebook page in July last year show workers hauling logs with an earthmover.
Under the regulation, logs are abandoned when unattended between 15 and 180 working days after felling, depending on their location.
The DayLight videotaped hundreds of logs on an open field in Dioh’s Town on the Greenville-Karquekpo route. Sources, including residents of that community, said the logs were only transferred there in February this year.
A screenshot of Iroko’s website shows the logs were harvested before or in October, nearly more than three times the legal time frame for a log anywhere to be abandoned.
Togba said some of the logs were still in the forest and wanted to document them. “I’m going to put the forest guards together… to carry them in the forest and record all of [that] information on those abandoned logs,” Togba said in an interview at his house in Karquekpo. He did not return queries on his findings after the interview despite repeated phone conversations.
The FDA has taken no concrete steps to deter Iroko or any other company from abandoning logs, now a sector normal. Between 2020 and 2023, Managing Director Mike Doryen made several pronouncements, including a public announcement in November last year, but never acted. Recently, current Managing Director Rudolph Merab toured the southeast, highlighting the issue but has done nothing more.
The FDA record shows that the agency approved Iroko’s permit to export 349 logs this May, something Iroko said it was “finalizing” soon. However, in an interview with The DayLight, William Pewu, FDA’s technical manager for community forestry, said the regulator would investigate.
“If Iroko has abandoned logs or woods, we are not aware of that,” Pewu said. “We have to first of all validate whether the information we are getting [is authentic]. We have to do a follow-up.”
Pewu’s assertion of being unaware of Iroko’s abandoned log situation is not backed by facts. The DayLight published an investigation on the issue more than a year ago. The FDA did not return questions the newspaper asked regarding Iroko at the time.
An elevated view of Iroko’s log yard with a solitary earthmover and a makeshift security booth. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
The FDA must investigate a piece of abandoned log information, according to the regulation, and publish its findings. The regulation further mandates the agency to seize and auction said logs with a court warrant, following several public notices. Penalties for the offense include fines and contract forfeiture.
‘[Overvalued]’
Iroko’s struggles suggest it cannot conduct logging activities in Central River Dugbe.
It claims it owns eight earthmovers and leases nine others, according to one official document. However, it has been seen with only a few equipment in the last three years. An old machine at the log yard and two in Polay Town, one of the eight communities that own the forest.
The document shows Iroko targets 100,000 hectares of forests in the region in 15 years but it has grappled to manage just 13,193 hectares in three.
Iroko plans to run a centralized log yard near Greenville, from where it would produce about 50,000 cubic meters of logs each harvesting season. Yet, its current log yard is smaller than a football pitch. Reporters did not have to fly a drone high to capture all of the logs, a solitary earthmover and a makeshift security booth last month.
Togba said Iroko’s capacity troubles were glaring. He said the company had been “[overvalued],” accusing the FDA of not assessing Iroko’s financial and logistical capacities.
“The law says before FDA gives the company permit…, they should first of all view their equipment. They must know the company has an equipment that is up to standard but these things were not done,” Togba said.
Two Iroko machines in Polay Town, Sinoe County in 2023. The DayLight/James Giahyue
“What I suspect in their operation is there is no active equipment. Looking at the poor arrangement based on the equipment that brought all of that mess, the company doesn’t have the financial capability to operate,” Togba added.
Official documents appear to support Togba’s comments. It took Iroko barely two weeks to get prequalified for logging in Liberia. It registered as the company on July 7, 2021, and was prequalified on July 23, 2021, according to its article of incorporation and prequalification certificate.
Iroko’s situation mirrors that of Akewa Group of Companies, another Nigerian firm in which Odebunmi has 20 percent shares. Beginning in 2008, Akewa failed to live up to each one of its four contracts in Grand Bassa, Margibi and Grand Cape Mount. It is locked in an arbitration proceeding with the Margibi community over locals’ forest benefits.
Iroko dismisses indications of its capacity issues. “We are a business entity and we work with positives and challenges of the business environment,” Iroko said in emailed responses to The DayLight’s queries. It would not make specific comments on challenges.
‘Null and void’
The FDA could have prevented the situation had it disapproved of Iroko’s contract, due to Odebunmi’s shares in Akewa. Back in 2019, Akewa was fined US$1,000 forging another company’s tax clearance to acquire a contract in Grand Cape Mount County.
Approving the Iroko-Central-River-Dugbe contract—with Odebunmi as a shareholder—violates the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications. The regulation debars shareholders of companies that commit any acts of public dishonesty for five years. Only three years had passed when the FDA approved Iroko’s contract.
Iroko said Odebunmi was unaware of his shares in Akewa and “has never signed any document to that effect.” It said Odebunmi did not know of Akewa’s tax fraud.
But those statements are not backed by facts. Odebunmi has owned a fifth of Akewa’s shares since 2010, through two amendments, Akewa’s legal documents show. A recent review of the forestry sector by the U.S.-based Forest Trends also captures Odebunmi as an Akewa shareholder.
Speaking on its illegal approval of Iroko’s contract, the FDA said it did not have a list of debarred companies and individuals, and that it needed a court action to enforce debarment. The FDA further said it could not enforce the qualification regulation because Iroko did not bid for Central River Dugbe. Like Iroko’s, the FDA’s assertions are not backed by facts.
Up: A page from Akewa’s article of incorporation shows Timothy Odebunmi as a 20-percent shareholder in the company. Here: A page from Iroko’s legal documents reveals Timothy Odebunmi as a 50-percent shareholder.
Though the qualification regulation mandates the FDA to form a list of debarred persons, other provisions on eligibility are not subject to the list. For instance, the Yes-or-No Prequalification Criteria requires a firm seeking prequalification not to have any shareholders connected to forgery.
The FDA’s claim that it could not apply the regulation because Iroko was not bidding for a contract contradicts its actions. The qualification regulation does not only cover bidding. It also contains requirements for the rights to conduct forestry activities in Liberia.
Moreover, the FDA applied such a provision by warning Iroko against perjury, which has nothing to do with the debarment list.
“Any statement made under oath to the panel that is found to be false renders this certificate null and void,” Iroko’s prequalification certificate reads. The three-year document will expire later this month.
This story was a production of Forest and Environmental Journalists (CoFEJ).
FDA Deputy Managing Director Gertrude Nyaley made several false claims on Okay FM last Thursday. Picture credit: Facebook
By Gabriel M. Dixon
MONROVIA – In statements that are largely self-contradicting and underpinned by falsehood, FDA’s Deputy Managing Director for Operations, Gertrude Nyaley misinformed the public about community rights, eligibility for contracts, and legality procedures for confiscated and abandoned logs.
Nyaley made the false claims last Thursday when she appeared on Forest Hour, a radio program of Liberia Forest Media Watch, hosted on Okay FM.
The DayLight has fact-checked four major ones.
CLAIM 1: “If there are no shareholders and it is a new company and none of the significant individuals that existed in the previous company, [are] named in that [new] company’s legal document, they cannot be considered as the same company. That’s the trouble we had. So, they registered a completely new company but we, FDA, are still under obligation to advise the community.
“If you say this Company A, you must prove that these are the same significant individuals. But if they are not the same significant individuals, they are totally different individuals, how can you say they are the same company? You can’t say it!”
FACT-CHECK: This claim is false. A Singaporean family, the Guptas, own both Sing Africa and Indo Africa, according to the companies’ articles of incorporation. The Guptas even have a third company: Starwood, which has a contract with Matro Kpogblen Community Forest in Grand Bassa.
Shivali Gupta, Shivani Gupta and Prachi Gupta have equal shares in Sing Africa.
Mukesh Gupta also has 51 percent and Anju Mukesh Kumar has the other 41 percent of the shares in Indo Africa.
Mukesh Gupta has 70 percent of the shares in Starwood and Mrs. Anju Mukesh Kumar has the remaining 30 percent.
Sing Africa and Indo Africa share Kishan Rao Pamapalker as their registered agent, a person who represents a company’s interest in business deals and lawsuits.
Moreover, the two companies had the same officials, with Kumah Gupta as their chief executive officer and Moses Mononporlor, as community forest manager.
The DayLight published these facts in an October 2021 investigation, which New Dawn newspaper republished. The FDA took no corrective measures against the family until each of the companies abandoned its contract. In the end, communities are struggling to get their benefits from a bank ordered by the Commercial Court to possess their assets.
CLAIM 2: “Our work is to ensure that they work consistent with the law. We don’t choose [a] company for [a] community. Communities themselves write FDA introducing who they want to work with after they have gone through their rigorous processes. So, they choose the company to work with. And all FDA can say to you is look, ‘We think that these people may not have the technical capacity because of what they have done in previous communities. We need you to watch.’
“The law says even when they sent their request to sign and we ignored their request, after three months, they have the right to even sign.”
A screengrab of Deputy Managing Director of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) Gertrude Nyaley’s appearance on Forest Hour on Okay FM.
This is also misleading. Nyaley misreferenced the procedures for an automatic renewal of a community forest management agreement with a commercial use contract.
Communities sign a community forest management agreement with the FDA for 15 years. Now, when that agreement is about to expire, Section 7.8 of the Community Rights Regulation gives villagers the right to automatic renewal if the FDA does not respond to a community’s request in not less than 60 days. That provision has nothing to do with a commercial use contract—also known as a third-party agreement—between a community and a company or an individual.
However, community forestry is no escapism from normal forestry practices. It only recognizes communities’ rights to forestland ownership and co-management of forest resources. It does not usurp the FDA’s powers.
Section 4 (g) and (f) of the FDA Act of 1976 is clear: “To prescribe the form of all licenses, permits, agreements and other instruments dealing with the use of forest resources.
“To control the issuance of such instruments and determine the conditions under which they may be granted, exercised, produced, revoked or returned.”
CLAIM 3: “We’ll move in first to one area for seizure, go to the magisterial court, we get the seizure, get to the site, [and] place the notice. After the period elapse[s], we move to the circuit court and apply the law.”
FACT-CHECK: This statement is misleading. A magisterial court plays no role in the legal processes regarding confiscated or abandoned logs. The word “court” is used 17 times in the Regulation on Confiscated Logs, Timber, and Timber Products, and 10 times in the Regulation on Abandoned Logs, Timber, and Timber Products. In all instances, the regulations are clear that a petition to confiscate or seize wood must be done in the circuit court. There is no mention of the phrase “magisterial court” in both regulations.
CLAIM 4: “Abandoned logs are all over the country. It’s sad to say but it is true. The challenge has been, because of these woods you [saw in Bondi Mandingo] they cannot pass through the chain of custody system because of the timeframe on the ground. Once it is confiscated, it is illegal. We can’t do anything.”
FACT-CHECK: This statement is untrue. The regulations on confiscated and abandoned logs provide pathways for the FDA to reintroduce timber into the chain of custody system, which tracks wood from their origin to their end-use. This principle is consistent with even the Regulation for Establishing a Chain of Custody System that governs everything about logs.
Both regulations require the FDA to investigate and seek a (circuit) court warrant to seize and/or confiscate timber. Next, the regulator must seek another court order to auction abandoned or confiscated timber upon several public notices.
Top: Joseph Toe, a Bao Chico worker displays his injured fingers to our reporter. The Daylight /Harry Browne
By Emmanuel Sherman
BARNERSVILLE, Montserrado – Joseph Toe 35, was happy when he started work with Bao Chico in Gbarpolu in February.
Toe was assigned to an iron ore plant, with his job to prevent unwanted rocks from entering the machine.
But on May 4, barely three months at the Bao Chico Resources Liberia Limited, Toe sustained injuries to two fingers in an accident. He had been lecturing and gesturing to a friend while eating when his left hand slipped into an air compressor machine. The air compressor, an automatic machine used in welding, cut portions of his thumb and his ring finger.
After the accident, Toe was first taken to John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia for two days and later to Emirates Hospital in Bopolu.
Emirates recommended in the presence of county authorities that Toe should continue with full treatment at JFK Hospital due to his condition. But the Bao Chico management took him to another clinic instead.
Toe insisted that he should be treated at JFK in line with the recommendation and not at another clinic.
A Bao Chico mine in Gbarpolu County. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
‘They dashed me’
Bao Chico refused on the ground they were paying the money, so they would carry him anywhere they felt.
“I said no. They dashed me and went about their business. They did not know how I was eating,” Toe told The DayLight at his temporary home in Barnesville.
Toe then called the police. The police invited Jack Wang, Bao Chico’s site manager, but he refused. So, the police came to the Chinese clinic arrested, handcuffed, placed him on a motorcycle taxi and took him to the police depot in the ELWA community.
However, the case was withdrawn and settled outside of the police, according to Jusu Sumo, the labor commissioner of Gbarpolu County, who presided over Toe’s case. He was recalled after the case as part of a routine reshuffle.
“There is a need for the company to come and settle me to help my family,” Toe said. “You can look at my fingers, I am traumatized. I am not normal like again like before.”
Toe has received US$3,000 as injury benefit as required under the Decent Work Act, Sumo said, which Toe confirmed.
“As far as we are concerned, the issue with Toe has been settled,” said George Mitchell, a Bao Chico spokesman.
Police officers handcuff Jack Wan and bundle him onto a motorcycle taxi. The DayLight/Harry Browne
This is the third major injury at Bao Chico The DayLight has reported due to the company’s unsafe working environment. Earlier this year, Augustine David, a driver lost his index finger when a steel rod crushed it. Momo Kamara a machine assistant, lost his left, small finger in a machine accident.
There have been other injuries and incidents. Anthony Jackson, a welder, was injured on his left foot because he was not wearing proper footgear. Jedrome Baomah got injured after a hot welding particle passed through the hole of the goggles he was hearing and entered his right eye. Harris Kollie, a driller, sustained injuries on his neck and stomach after being beaten by Mr. Wang.
Perhaps, the most infamous victim is Zoe Freeman, a 50-plus woman who fainted during one of Bao Chico’s explosion exercises.
The DayLight investigation found Bao Chico did not draw up its workplace regulations for approval by the Ministry of Mines and Energy as required by law.
There is no record that Bao Chico reported these injuries to the ministry, another violation of the law. The procedures are intended to secure the safety, health and welfare of employees and other persons at work.
“It is shocking to see a multi-million-dollar company for three years without employing a single safety officer who will teach safety rules to workers, said Sampson Lamah, the spokesperson of the affected communities in Gbarpolu County. Bao Chico only provides a helmet, reflective vest, and light gloves, Lamah said. There are no safety boots or other gear for mineworkers.
Bao Chico, a Chinese-owned steel company, and the Liberian government signed a 25-year agreement to mine iron ore in 2022. The agreement covers 87.4 kilometers, stretching from Bopulu in Gbarpolu to Suehn Mecca in Bomi.
The United States Embassy provided funding for this story. The DayLight maintained editorial independence over the story’s content.
Top: An oil palm mill in a town in Sanquin District, Sinoe County. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
By Gabriel Carter
We cannot deny the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas that has been and continues to be emitted into the air by various methods since the beginning of the First Industrial Revolution. With the advancement in technologies from automobiles, planes, ships, industrial factories, various electrical grids, and other power plants, the earth has absorbed the effect of the byproducts of these advancements. Somehow, the damaging impact of CO2 emission also known as greenhouse gas (GHG) hasn’t been a focal point of any of the global economic forums until its impact began to show signs of existential threat to us as a species.
We have ignored scientists from various disciplines highlighting the initial threats of global warming. But gradually, as more evidence emerged supported by scientific data coupled with the changes in our weather pattern as evidenced by frequent natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, droughts, floods and even tsunamis, and in the tropical climate, heavy torrential rain with flood, we have felt the economic impact of climate change. The frequency of these threats and the severe financial impact resulting in billions of dollars in losses have garnered the need for a global effort and collective agreement to fight the rise in temperatures.
Africa, as a continent, contributes less GHG to the planet compared to other regions of the world. This is in part due to the lack of scale in industrialization on the continent (link to previous article on industrialization) which would have increased its level of pollution. More countries on the continent are relatively young compared to the rest of the world. It is also important to note that Africa’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions varies among countries. It is influenced by factors such as population size, economic development, energy sources and land-use practices.
Key points regarding Africa’s contribution to climate change:
Greenhouse Gas Emission – Africa’s total greenhouse gas emissions account for a relatively small portion of the global emissions, approximately 4% as of 2022. This is significantly lower than emissions from other regions such as Asia, North America, and Europe.
Energy Sources – the energy sector is one of the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions globally. In Africa, many countries rely on fossil fuels for energy generation, including coal, oil and natural gas. However, the overall energy consumption and emissions from the energy sector in Africa are comparatively lower in others than in other regions due to limited access to modern energy infrastructure and services in some areas.
Land-use change and Agriculture: Land-use change, such as deforestation and land degradation, contributes to CO2 emissions. In Africa, deforestation occurs due to factors like agriculture expansion, logging, and infrastructure development. Additionally, agriculture practices such as livestock production and rice cultivation can generate emissions of methane and nitrous oxide.
Industrial Activities – Africa’s industrial sector which is currently growing, is not as extensive as in other regions. However, certain industries, such as mining and cement production, can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
Adaptation Challenges – Africa is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, especially from droughts, floods, and changing rainfall patterns.
African countries face challenges in adapting to climate change due to limited financial resources and infrastructure, making it crucial to prioritize climate resilience and adaptation measures
As they began to scale up industrialization with the adoption of technologies, their emission of greenhouse gas (GHG) will increase and subsequently their collective pollution levels. This presents an opportunity for countries on the continent to adapt to cleaner energy sources, and more electric vehicles, build industrial factories that leverage cleaner energy sources and move toward a better and cleaner and more sustainable climate than their other counterparts.
It is important to highlight that within Africa, there is considerable variation in greenhouse gas emissions among countries. Some countries have higher emissions due to factors such as larger populations, industrialization, or resource extraction, while others have significantly lower emissions. It is crucial for Africa, like other regions, to continue working towards sustainable development, low-carbon pathways, and promoting renewable energy sources to mitigate climate change and reduce emissions.
The fight to coalesce both the global south and global north is already being met with inequity. The developing countries, particularly those in the global south have a justified reason for wanting the establishment of Loss and Damage financing. Why? These countries contribute a fraction of the global CO2 emission, yet they face the same level of climate impact as the rest of the world. To justify the fight to net zero, the funding facility will help them deal with some of the impacts caused by climate change.
Why more funding should be allocated to African countries.
A house on a street destroyed by sea erosion in Greenville, Sinoe County. The DayLight/Derick Snyder
Despite these sources of funding and the call to unify countries to coalesce around the fight to reduce global temperatures, there are still questions, unresolved concerns, and a shortfall in funding to ensure the fight to net zero is achieved. Some major emitters such as China, Russia and India aren’t on board the global fight to reduce net CO2. They have opted out of the latest conference because these countries are in the middle of an innovative revolution where the developed countries were 50-60 years ago. They are not going to allow themselves to ease off the pace of development because of the impact of climate change.
If developing countries such as China, Russia and India are opting out of the COP Conferences because it could slow the pace of their development, why aren’t African countries that I believe are yet to have developed beyond the Second Industrial Revolution opting out? The amount of funding being committed from the developed countries towards African countries’ Loss and Damages isn’t worth sacrificing their move towards industrialization. Even if the developed countries make the case that a shift toward greener innovation, including cleaner cement, industrial manufacturing plants and facilities, transport, and infrastructures; there are major funding deployments that are required to shift to green innovation. Who is going to fund the gap in funding if African countries do embark on the move toward green innovation if the developed countries can’t even agree to establish a Loss and Damage Financing facility?
African countries currently depend on these MDBs to fund the majority of the major infrastructure projects. Some of them even depend on these MDBs for budgetary support and these loans from these multilateral development banks have been crushing these countries because of how they are structured. Yet, do we want the same MDBs to now lead the financing of climate change in African countries?
Industrialization and innovation and the move towards middle-income states or developed countries should be the priority for all African countries. If those innovations and industrialization to improve productivity come at the cost of becoming major emitters similar to their Western counterpart, then let’s all bear the responsibility of the cost of industrializing and moving to middle-income states or developed nations. If not, then the major emitters who have enjoyed and continue to enjoy the benefit of emitting the quantum amount of CO2 in the air should agree to the proposal of the developing countries to not only fund the Loss and Damage but also establish a Global South Climate Fund to help those countries move toward greener innovations and industrialization without sacrificing their move to middle-income states and developed nations. This is the more equitable way to approach climate change if we expect every nation, be it those in the frontier market, emerging market and developed markets to coalesce around the move towards net zero.
Gabriel Carter is a banking and financial expert with over a decade of experience in commercial banking, credit risk, and investment banking. Currently, he is a Vice-President and Portfolio Manager at one of the nation’s leading financial institutions managing over $1.8 billion in assets. He sits on the firm’s commercial real estate climate change team as a subject matter expert.
Gabriel holds a BSc. in Finance from Cambridge College and a Master of Science in Finance from Brandeis University – International Business School.
