Evading Taxes, Miners Leave Behind Death Traps and Polluted River

April 30, 2026

Drone shot of Golden Trip's mine in Kpeteyea — A drone shot of Golden Trip's mine in Kpeteyea, Lofa County.

Top: A drone shot of Golden Trip Group Limited’s abandoned mine in the Kpeteyea town of Salayea District, Lofa County. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

By T. Prince Mulbah, special for The DayLight

KPETEYEA, Lofa County – One day in May 2020, Chief Anthony Flomo joined townspeople to sign an MoU with a mining company. The five-year deal required Golden Trip Group Limited to pay Kpeteyea—a town in the Gbalin Clan of Salayea District—US$900 monthly, pave a major road with concrete bridges, and provide scholarships.

For the first time, the people of Kpeteyea felt their nightmare of bad roads, a lack of high school graduates and unsafe drinking water was over.

But what Chief Flomo and the townspeople did not know was that Golden Trip had issues. Between the signing and when the community’s realization, Golden Trip had dug several giant-sized pits, polluted watercourses, allegedly owed the community benefits, and evaded a substantial amount of taxes.

“Golden Trip really surprised me, because when they entered Kpeteyea, I thought it was a new day for us…,” said Chief Flomo, sitting under a tree where the Gold Trip MoU was signed.

“We thought the young people of this town were going to get good jobs, our children were going to sit in modern classrooms with safe drinking water,” he added.

Unauthorized mining

Golden Trip was established in April 2018 and is owned by Chein Haibin (75 percent), a Chinese national, and Randy Scott (25 percent), a Liberian businessperson, according to the company’s articles of incorporation.

compressed MG 8583 — Wildcat miners at Golden Trip’s gold mine in Kpeteyea. Reporters counted over 30 water pump machines at the site. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

In February 2020, it applied for a class ‘B’ or a medium-scale mining license on 98.3 acres in the Salayea District. Its application was approved three months later. However, the Ministry of Mines placed it under review in 2024 and has remained that way ever since.

Locals only discovered this information when Scott, Golden Trip’s Liberian co-owner, allegedly refused to present its documents. They had become suspicious after several companies claimed the same gold mine as Golden Trip, among other things.

Their suspicion pushed Arthur Quiah, then-Salayea District’s Mining Agent, to investigate. Quiah, a mines ministry representative in the region, established that Golden Trip’s particulars were incomplete and shut down its operations.

“I closed them because their document had expired and they did not have a current document. Their document was not proper, and the false one that I took from them… expired,” Quiah told the DayLight in a telephone interview. Quiah, who has now been replaced, presented no evidence.

Also, it is unclear whether the Ministry of Mines took any action against Golden Trip for its illegal activities, though operating without a valid mining license violates the Minerals and Mining Law, which carries a fine, a prison term, or both for convicted offenders.

Randy Scott, Golden Trip’s minority shareholder, denies Quiah’s accusation. Scott, questioning Quiah’s employment status with the ministry, said Quiah was unaware of the situation.

“How will he close me down when the Ministry of Mines is still sending me communications?” Scott, who has been linked to several mining companies, quipped. “Arthur Quiah lied.”

Meanwhile, the people of Kpeteyea have seized Golden Trip’s properties until it pays all debts it allegedly owes the community. Golden Trip owes Kpeteyea US$8,100 in monthly dues, two hand pumps, a guesthouse, three bridges, and the renovation of a school building, among others, according to Chief Flomo.

compressed DJI 0159 — A drone shot of Kpeteyea Town in Salayea District, Lofa County. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

“I swear these people lied to us, but thank God their materials are still here. If they cannot pay our US$8,100, and implement the projects we agreed on in the MoU, nobody will take any machine from here,” said Chief Flomo.

Scott denies being indebted to Kpeteyea, dubbing the town’s claim as “nonsense.” He, who had said last year he would resume work this year, now said he had moved from the area.

“Let them take [the equipment],” he told The DayLight in a phone interview. “The government issued the license to different persons; I don’t have [anything] to do over there again.” There is no record of the new company Scott mentioned.

Bogeyman holes

Reporters documented Golden Trip’s mining footprints in Kpeteyea. There were huge, open mining pits locally known as bogeyman holes for being death-traps. There were traces of muddy water running into the Wainda River from mining activities. There was a network of pipes meant to channel water from the rover, which flows into the St. Paul River, and is used by locals for drinking.

Chief Flomo told the DayLight that farmers discovered dead fish floating on the river and the riverbank. It has been polluted with chemicals.

“People were complaining that they had lots of dead fish in the water, but we were really confused about who did the act. Actually, we never discovered what killed the fish, so we advised the citizens not to use the water,” added Flomo. A group of wildcat miners from faraway and near, digging the open pits, confirmed the townspeople’s story.

Scott squashed those claims as a “lazy argument” from the people of Kpeteyea. He claims that the pipes in the river were used to fetch water to his camp.

“Look, mercury? That is a lazy argument. My company was working in the place, and we needed water, which is why you saw pipes in the river. Besides, if fish were dying, then I don’t know why,” added Scott.

The DayLight could not independently verify that claim. However, locals’ descriptions of the alleged pollution are consistent with cyanide poisoning, since mercury kills fish gradually through long-term exposure.

Scott also denies Golden Trip left behind bogeyman holes, a common cause of mine collapses nationwide, including one of the deadliest in River Cess two years ago.

compressed DJI 0165 — In 2024, the Ministry of Mines and Energy shut down Golden Trip’s operations, four years after it was awarded. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

“I never dug in pits. I dug in a mountain,” said Scott. “I never worked on a low ground. You can’t cover the mountain. Who can cover a mountain? Is a mountain a hole?”

The mining law does not support Scott’s claims. The law requires a company to restore the land or watercourse to its previous state. It does not provide an exception for montane or flat areas.

No work permit

It is unclear how much gold Golden Trip produced, as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s records show the company did not export any minerals.

Scott corroborated that information, claiming Golden Trip did not find gold in Kpeteyea. “If I were getting minerals, would I leave from there?” He asked rhetorically.

It was the third reason Scott provided for Golden Trip’s inactivity in Kpeteyea. He had first blamed the local community and later “human errors” on his license.

But the scale of Golden Trip’s operations and the interviews with townspeople tell a different story. Chinese and Liberian workers dug huge pits and piled up gravel in their search for tiny gold nuggets. Four Chinese teams mined the area in Golden Trip’s name. Company executives made frequent trips in the north-western countryside day and night, said Charles Vesselee, a Kpeteyea youth.

“What do you mean? Randy Scott Golden Trip company never took gold from here?” He reacted to The DayLight’s findings. “That’s not true. Then why are trucks and Land Cruiser cars moving day and night? I beg you yaaa! Those guys carried minerals from here,” said Vesselee.

The mystery surrounding Golden Trip’s production is not the only issue. Turns out, none of the 16 foreign workers it brought into Liberia between 2021 and 2023 obtained work permits, according to official records. The Ministry of Labor confirmed this, except for one Zing Wei.

Also, the records establish that the workers obtained a resident permit. However, only four workers’ statuses were renewed. For instance, the residential status of Guangxian Li, a Chinese national who arrived in Liberia at some point, was renewed in 2023 after being skipped in 2022.

Similarly, the one for Hang Lu, another Chinese, who arrived in 2021, was only renewed in 2023. The Liberia Immigration Service said it did not have a record for any of the 16 workers.

MG 8564 — An illegal miner starts a water pump machine at Golden Trip’s mine in Kpeteyea, Lofa County. The DayLight/Samuel Jabba

The DayLight reviewed Gold Trip’s tax history and found that it failed to renew its license from 2021 until it was shut down in 2024. There was no payment for an environmental permit, a requirement for medium-scale mining.

Based on those findings, Golden Trip evaded tens of thousands of United States dollars in license fees, work, and resident permits, according to official records and fee structures.

The DayLight noted one more irregularity with Golden Trip, though. Official records show that Mr. Chein, the company’s majority shareholder, does not reside or work in Liberia.

Scott confirmed that Mr. Chein did not live or work in Liberia. However, he claims his Chinese business partner is not required to do so.

But that claim is incorrect. The mining law requires that a non-Liberian who holds up to 60 percent shares in a company with a medium-scale license be legally permitted to live and work in Liberia. The license empowers Liberian businesspersons to boost the country’s economy.

This content is produced by The DayLight with support from the Embassy of Ireland through Integrity Watch Liberia. The DayLight maintained editorial independence over its content, which does not reflect the position of the Embassy of Ireland or Integrity Watch Liberia.

Ex-Farmers and Hunters Farm Animals to Protect Forest

April 27, 2026

The beekeeper of Salayea — Titus Morlu, a beekeeper in Beyan Town, Salayea, visits one of his beehives. The DayLight/Harry N. Browne

Titus Morlu, a beekeeper in Beyan Town, Salayea, visits one of his beehives. The DayLight/Harry N. Browne

By Esau J. Farr

SALAYEA, Lofa County – Back in the days, Titus Morlu hunted deer, raccoons and pythons. But in 2024, he put down his gun and trap and became a beekeeper.

Morlu no longer has to walk long distances at night to hunt animals, and he does not worry about contracting any diseases from his prey. He keeps bees in Beyan Town, in Lofa’s Salayea District, bordering Bong County, and expects his first harvest soon.

“For now, some of us have no interest in going to the forest to hunt or look for honey because we have [honey] right behind our vineyards,” says Morlu.

Like Morlu, Wolobah Nuapolor hunted in the Salayea forest for decades. When he learned of an opportunity to raise pigs rather than hunt deer and squirrels, he jumped on it. He now has 12 pigs.

The beekeeping and piggery projects are two of several programs the Salayea Community Forest is undertaking to provide alternative, sustainable livelihood opportunities for townspeople, aimed at reducing their reliance on the forest and protecting it. It also includes a wood shop, cocoa farming, village loan scheme, and guesthouse management.

A pigpen at a farm in Salayea Town, Lofa County. The DayLight/Harry N. Browne

Established in 2016, the Salayea Community Forest is an 8,270-hectare conservation forest with rich biodiversity. The livelihood programs have impacted the forests at different levels. There is no more forest farming, as many have turned to lowland farming, animal raising and local businesses. Organizers say the project is intended to cut deforestation and forest-induced emissions.

“We are doing beekeeping, cocoa farming, village savings and loan program, and piggery in the six affected communities to fight against all forms of illegal activities in our forest,” says Yassah Mulbah, Salayea Community Forest’s chief officer.

“The village saving loan has empowered the women within the six affected communities in Salayea. They no longer receive credit from outsiders like in the past; their children are no longer being sent out of school for fees.”

DJI 0160 — A drone shot shows a partial view of the Salayea Community Forest. The DayLight/Samuel T. Jabba

‘A part of me’

In 2023 and 2024, Palladium Group, a UK-based NGO, trained people from the six communities that own the forest in different areas for two weeks. Beneficiaries of the piggery training received two pairs of pigs to begin their farming, while beekeeping trainees got beehives.

A team of DayLight reporters, which visited Telemu and Beyan Towns, observed that the beehives were ready for harvest.

Beekeepers in Salayea have chosen next month to harvest their beehives, all of which have colonized. The beekeepers want the community forest to help find buyers for their honey. One beekeeper told reporters that a liter of natural honey is sold for L$1,200 (US$6.66) in the area.

“I have decided to have my own beehives, about seven or eight, to help send my children to school and to help my family,” said John Tokpah, a former forest farmer-turned-beekeeper in Telemu Town, who has spent a year in the program.

“This (beekeeping) will be a part of me. I will not let it go from me.”

The piggery program is a little faster than the beekeeping program. It has already begun providing income for beneficiaries.

The piggery program recruited more than a dozen people, including women in Beyan, Telemu, and Salayea Towns. It started with 12 pairs of pigs, which have now multiplied. Currently, there are 18 pigs at three functional pig farms.

The Salayea pig farm has been sold at least three times. Proceeds from those sales have been added to the community forest’s savings of over L$400,000 (US$2,222), according to Mulbah.

“We have been using some of the pigs for other programs here in Salayea,” says Wolobah Nuapolor, a piggery manager. “Even last week, we killed some and sold it and the money was put into the community forest’s account.”

Wolobah Nuapolor, a piggery manager in Salayea, prepares food for pigs. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr

“When these pigs are plentiful here, our men will not be hunting in the forest,” says Nenei David, a pig farmer in Telemu.

In the next five years, Mulbah, Salayea’s chief officer, wants the community to be independent of the forest. Illegal activities in the forest have reduced since 2024, she says. This, however, was propelled by a string of legal victories against illegal occupants—farmers, miners and loggers.

“These livelihood programs will make Salayea Community Forest financially strong and put an end to illegal forest activities in the years ahead,” Mulbah says.

The story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).

Community, Family Fight over Forest

October 20, 2025

Top: Smith Sulonteh is claiming a portion of the Salayea Community Forest, including where he makes charcoal and planks. The DayLight/T. Prince Mulbah

By Prince Mulbah

SALAYEA, Lofa County – Last year, townsmen were stunned when they discovered a huge pile of planks and the sound of a chainsaw deep in the forest in Gorlu during a routine patrol. When local guardians investigated, they found that a man was making planks and burning charcoal in the forest.

Angered by Smith Sulonteh’s actions, the community forest sued them at the Salayea Magisterial Court. It would turn out to be the beginning of a legal battle that has pitted the family against the community.

“We are managing this forest for the future generation, so we cannot allow a family just to come and claim the forest themselves,” said Yassah Mulbah, Salayea’s chief officer, outside of the courtroom.

“If they had their deed, they should have made it available during the establishment of the forest. The establishment of the forest was all on the radio; everyone knew about it,” added Mulbah. She was referring to a 30 or 90-day required period for a person with a private land claim to register their claim before a community forest is authorized.

However, Mr. Sulonteh said they decided not to make any claims at the time, based on their lawyer’s advice. He said their families purchased 2,244.27 acres or nearly 11 percent of the forest from chiefs and elders in 1967. He presented the families’ deed to the court, case files show.

“These people are claiming our land because they have few local authorities of Gorlu who are supporting them,” said Solunteh. If it is for this land business, they will kill me. I’m ready to die fighting for my rights, but our side is the law and the law is for everybody.”

A charcoal mass production machine with some processed coals in bags, Mr. Solunteh produced. The DayLight/T. Prince Mulbah

Lawsuits

Salayea Community Forest was established in 2019, comprising six communities: Salayea, Yarpuah, Telemu, Gorlu, Ganglota and Beyan’s Town. It covers 8,270 hectares of rocky forestland in the Salayea, Lofa County, and is home to species, including monkeys, pangolins, and elephants.

Since its formation, Salayea has been involved conservation programs, including animal husbandry, village saving loan schemes, a mini-wood shop and Cocoa farming. It outlawed hunting, mining and other commercial activities.

Following Salayea’s lawsuit, the Salayea Magisterial Court imposed a stay order on Mr. Solunteh’s plank and charcoal. The court would later fine him for violating that order.

During courtroom proceedings, Mr. Solunteh presented a deed to the court to back his claim. The court handed the document to Salayea to verify at the Center for National Documents and Records Agency in Monrovia.

Mr. Solunteh disagreed with that judgment and filed a petition with the 10^th Judicial Circuit Court in Voinjama to overturn the lower court’s decision.

The circuit court sided with Mr. Solunteh, according to the case files. The higher court reprimanded the lower court for not verifying the families’ deed itself, and for fining Mr. Sulonteh. The higher court then lifted the stay order on his activities in a March 18 verdict.

Three months later, Lofa County Attorney Cllr. Luther Sumo re-imposed the stay order following complaints from chiefs and elders of Gorlu. This term, Sumo sent in the police to enforce the stay.

“I have received several phone calls and complaints from the commissioner that the chiefs have threatened that if they cannot stop the pit-sawing and charcoal burning, they are going to protest and take unspecified actions, which we do not want,” Sumo said in a telephone interview.

“If I sit here and allow things to go off hand, who will be blamed at the end of the day… and we do not want chaos in our communities in Lofa.”

Piles of planks in the Salayea Community Forest. The DayLight/T. Prince Mulbah

Despite Mr. Sumo’s order, Mr. Sulonteh continued to operate, sticking with the circuit court’s decision. Only the court could tell him to stop, not any individual.

His insistence fueled the townspeople’s anger. In July, Gorlu townsmen stopped him from transporting planks from the area, seizing a truckload of wood that was headed to Monrovia because he was defying the County Attorney’s stay mandate.

Mr. Sulonteh sued the townsmen for alleged “menacing, theft of property and disorderly conduct.” However, the Salayea Magisterial Court dismissed the case, citing a lack of evidence, court filings show.

After the September 11, Mr. Sulonteh halted his operations—for the time being.

“Presently, we are not doing anything in the forest,” he told The DayLight. “We are running after some documents for the same land in question to allow our lawyer to advise us on the next action to take.”

This story was a Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ) production.

Miners Dig Community Forest with Expired License

January 21, 2025

Top: Miners operate with an expired license in the Salayea Community Forest. The DayLight/Harry Browne

By Esau J. Farr

SALAYEA TOWN – In late May 2024, the Salayea Authorized Community Forest filed a lawsuit against a group of illegal miners for alleged unauthorized entry.

The Salayea Magisterial Court threw the case out, saying Ford Tabolo, the miners’ head, had a legal class ‘C’ or small-scale license. The court called on the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) to resolve the matter.

But Tabolo’s miners continued to mine after the expiration of his license in August last year, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy’s records. This means that Tabolo has illegally exploited the 8,270-hectare woodland for five months, nearly half of the lifespan of a small-scale mining license.

In a follow-up to previous investigations, reporters walked six hours to and from the community forest late last year and gathered evidence of Tabolo’s illicit mining activities.

“He (Ford Tabolo) is aware of our operation [mining activities] here and he is the one sponsoring us. If anybody has a problem with us, they will put it before our leader,” said Daddy Kanneh, the head of the mining camp.

Illicit miners Water wash gold at a mining camp in the Salayea Community Forest. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr

The camp is first from Salayea Town towards Telemu deep into the forest at the foot of a red, muddy hill. Mine pits spread beneath a hill, with two tents made of palm thatches and tarpaulins. Five miners panned and sieved for gold with a water pump machine, which is prohibited for small-scale mining.

“If the forest people say we should stop mining, that one should be an agreement between them and our boss man,” added Kanneh.

The reporters walked another hour to Tabolo’s second goldmine. Perched on the banks of a stream, some 10 miners worked there—this time—with shovels, buckets, diggers and cutlasses.

Here, the miners built an inclined wooden stage with carpets. They poured muddy gravel on the carpeted stage, followed by water, which entrapped tiny gold nuggets.

Other mineworkers panned for the nuggets, while others dug gravels and transported them to the washing stage.

Miners wash gravel for gold in the Salayea Community Forest. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr

“Right now, we have around 30 persons here in the forest. The way we used to receive gold here, we are not receiving it like that. When we were using the machine, we were getting more gold but the forest guards came here and took it away,” said John Kollie, the camp’s manager. Kollie disclosed they got between a quarter and half of a gram of gold daily.

Reporters could not visit Tabolo’s third goldmine more than two hours walk away, as evening approached. It would have meant sleeping in the dark, humid forest, and compromising their safety. So, they collected testimonies from the miners who had worked there.

They spoke about how Salayea Community Forest guards seized their tools, including a machine, carpets and shovels.

The DayLight could not determine whether Tabolo had a license for all three goldmines, as he has three other expired licenses in Lofa.

Efforts to interview Tabolo did not materialize, as his phone was always off, and he did not reply to text messages. However, in a previous interview with The DayLight, the mine owner said he would upgrade his small-scale license to a semi-industrial scale license.

Mining with an expired license constitutes a violation, with up to a US$2,000 fine, a maximum 24-month imprisonment, or both for convicted offenders.

Conservation undermined

The community forest wants the miners out as the forest is under conservation. Salayea Community Forest is important for conservation due to its rich biodiversity, which has empowered local people.

The community forest runs alternative livelihood programs, including beekeeping, piggery, village saving loans, woodshops and cocoa plantations.

“We want the government to make sure to get the miners out of the forest because it is undermining our conservation efforts,” said Yassah Mulbah, the chief officer of the forest. “We will not rest as leaders of the forest until the right things are done.”

Miners in the Salayea Community Forest in Lofa County. The DayLight/Harry Browne

Last November, the current minister of Lands, Mines and Energy Minister, Wilmot Paye suggested that the mining law was superior to forestry laws and regulations. He made the statement in a WhatsApp chat with The DayLight.

“Your query should further focus on what the Minerals and Mining Law of 2000 says,” Paye texted and did not say anything thereafter.

Paye’s comments were incorrect. The mining law does not recognize community forestry—it is Liberia’s oldest extractive law. However, the Community Rights Law and the Land Rights Act of 2018 do. Both laws grant locals ownership of forestlands.

This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).

Illicit Miners Ravage Community Forest

November 5, 2024

Top: Local forest guards with carpet seized from artisanal miners in the Salayea Community Forest. File picture

By Esau J. Farr

TELEMU TOWN, Lofa County – Miners in Lofa County have intruded on the Salayea Authorized Community Forest, undermining locals’ efforts to conserve the woodland. The miners entered the 8,270-hectare forest without the community’s consent, violating the Community Rights Law, which created community forestry.

“They are knocking down the trees,” said Yassah Mulbah, the chief officer of the forest, established in 2019.

The DayLight obtained photographs taken by local forest guards showing mining equipment, barrels of fuel, felled trees and a polluted waterway.

Townspeople said the miners had 13 dredges on a tributary of the St. Paul River, machines the government has banned. The DayLight could not independently verify that information regarding our reporters’ safety on a long road amid bad weather.

Salayea is one of a few conservation community forests in Liberia, the only one in Lofa County. The forest’s leadership runs alternative livelihood programs to keep locals off murky, rocky woodland, with a high potential for gold.

“We want to keep this area as a reserved forest for our children and future generations,” said Nathaniel Forkpa, the secretary general of the community land leadership of Palama Clan, which hosts a portion of the forest.

Illicit miners over the River Dugbe in Sinoe. The DayLight/Derick Snyder

Forkpah, secretary general of the Palama Clan’s community land development and management committee. The clan hosts a portion of the forest. Forkpah and other townsmen had first spotted the miners in May.

In 2023, Lofa County lost 20,000 hectares of forest, according to the Global Forest Watch, which tracks deforestation worldwide. It was the county with the third-most loss.

Administrative proceeding

Angered by the actions of the illicit mining activities, forest guards seized the miners’ properties.

Later, Salayea filed a lawsuit against Ford Roy Tabolo, the mine owner. They sue him and two other men for mining without license, smuggling of minerals, criminal trespass and criminal facilitation, documents from the Salayea Magisterial Court show.

Tabolo and the men deny any wrongdoing. Tabolo argued that their activities were legal, producing a small-scale mining license.

Following a week of hearings, the court dismissed the case and removed a stay on the trio’s activities.

Judge Gabriel Ndupellar ruled that both parties had legal documents. Ndupellar said the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) needed to resolve the matter.

“The proceeding before this court is not ripe enough for judicial determination, except based on the outcome of an administrative proceeding,” the court said.

Reeling from the ruling, Salayea wrote the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) about the case. “We need your quick intervention,” read the June 8 letter. The FDA did not immediately respond to the DayLight’s queries.

The case is the fourth concerning mining in a community forest in the last five years, per media reports. Previous cases involved Korninga B and Bondi Mandingo in Gbarpolu, and Blei and Sehyi-Ko-doo in Nimba. Bea Mountain Mining Corporation and Solway Mining Inc. were penalized in the Korninga B and Nimba cases. The other Gbarpolu case implicates unlicensed miners and is still in court.

Meanwhile, Mulbah said Salayea was consulting lawyers for further legal actions against Tabolo.

Salayea forest guards with tools seized from an artisanal mine owner Ford Roy Tabolo. File picture

Water pollution

Back in Salayea, Tabolo and his team are digging in the forest. A DayLight review of the Ministry of Mines’ records shows Tabolo has four small-scale mining licenses, all expired in August and have not been renewed. That includes the license he presented to the court, based on court filings. Tabolo did not return queries for comments on this story.

Locals said another group of miners uses dredges on the St. Paul River, polluting creeks, driving away wildlife, and destroying the forest. It was due to such harmful environmental impacts the Ministry of Mines imposed a moratorium on dredging in 2019.

“The fishes in the water are also being affected and our people are eating the fish because they don’t know,” said Tokpah Koiwu, a community leader.

Villagers now carry drinking water from towns to their farms due to the pollution, Koiwu added.

The DayLight did not see the dredges. However, reporters obtained photos of royal blue plastic barrels, used by miners to make the makeshift machines. Furthermore, the color of the water in the pictures was consistent with a dredging operation.

This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).

Salayea Shows Community Land and Forest Leaders Can Work Together

November 2, 2024

Top: Eva Kpandah, Palama Clan’s community land and development committee chairperson. The DayLight/Harry Browne

By Esau J. Farr

SALAYEA TOWN, Lofa County – In 2019, the Sehyi Clan in Sanniquellie-Mahn District, Nimba County began the legal process of acquiring a customary land deed. Sehyi’s community land development and management committee spearheads that process.

Another clan group has exercised similar functions over Sehyi’s forest since 2017. The Sehyi Ko-doo Community Forest’s community forest management body comanages the 1,538-hectare forest alongside the Forestry Development Authority (FDA).

There is a problem, though. The forest leadership does not have a good relationship with its land counterpart. Like several communities, they are at loggerheads, with mounting calls for a national conversation to resolve these disputes.

But things are different in the Salayea District of Lofa County over 200 miles away. There, three—not two—community land and forest bodies, peacefully coexist and solve some of the district’s problems.

Since 2009, the district has had a community forest development committee, representing locals’ interests in a large-scale logging concession.

In 2016, the Salayea Community Forest was established, with a community leadership to co-manage the forest.

Then in 2019, Palama, a clan that hosts a portion of the Salayea Community Forest, established a governance structure to help develop and manage its land.

“If we don’t merge and work together, things will not work well for us,” says Yassah Mulbah, the chief officer of the Salayea Community Forest.

“We are working together as a team for a goal to protect the forest, to take it from illegal activities for the community’s development,” adds Eva Kpandah, the chairperson of Palama Clan’s land committee.

All three of the district’s bodies combat community challenges, including land conflicts and illegal mining activities.

A portion of the 8,270-hectare Salayea Community Forest in Lofa County. The DayLight/Harry Browne

In May, Kpandah tipped off Mulbah when she spotted miners entering the forest. Kpandah and Tokpah Koiwu supported Mulbah in filing a lawsuit against the miners. Koiwu is a member of Salayea District’s committee regarding the district’s large-scale logging concession.

In another instance, Mulbah and Koiwu are supporting Kpandah in Palama’s boundary dispute with Gbarlain, a neighboring clan.

‘Not invited’

In Sehyi, the stakes are even higher. Like Salayea, its forest and those of its neighbors Zor, Gba and Blei are all adjacent to the East Nimba Nature Reserve. The four communities run conservation programs that help protect the reserve’s endangered and endemic species, including chimpanzees and the Nimba toad. However, confusion among community leaders undermines livelihood programs that benefit locals and keep the forest standing.

Yassah Mulbah speaks to The DayLight at the margins of the National Land Conference in September 2024. The DayLight/Harry Browne

“The [community forest] leadership said… they can’t accept to collaborate with us,” says Peter Dolo, Sehyi’s land leadership. “When they are having meetings, [we are] not invited.”

Ericson Flomo, the leader of Sehyi’s forest leadership, denies that accusation. “They have not called us in any of their meetings,” Flomo says. He claims he is the one who has invited Dolo to several meetings.

Dolo refutes Flomo’s comments, saying he has attended Flomo’s meetings as a townsperson, not the land leader.

This crisis has rocked communities outside of Nimba. In River Cess, the leaders of Gbarsaw and Dorbor Community Forest have refused to recognize land leaders of the clan. “They are only there to take care of the land after the loggers have left. They have no authority over the forest,” James Gbordoe, the forest leader of Gbarsaw and Dorbor, said in 2021. “When the logs have been cut from there, they will have the whole land to take care of.”

The intensity of the crisis was displayed at a workshop in Ganta last month. Things got so heated that Silas Siakor, the Country Manager of Dutch NGO IDH, who helped organize the event, had to suspend the topic after a discord of claims and counterclaims from participants. The event was being held to gauge communities’ views on what they would need to manage their forest sustainably.

‘Forerunner’

Campaigners foretold this result. A few months after the passage of the Land Rights Act in 2018, the Margibi-based NGO Sustainable Development Institute published a report, predicting the power struggle.

(R-L) Peter Dolo, the chairman of Sehyi Clan’s community land development and management committee (CLDMC), and Ericson Flomo, the chief officer of Sehyi Ko-doo Community Forest. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

The report argues that “conflicting provisions” in the law, which created the community land leadership, and Community Rights Law…, which established the forest leadership, would escalate tension.

“Our thinking is the crisis will increase because part of the reasons the law was crafted was to address issues of rural marginalization in respect to managing resources in the country but also conflicting, overlapping rights,” Ali Kaba, the then-head of SDI’s community land protection program, said at the time.

“It is a good law. However, there are loopholes, there are gaps and there are contradictions,” added Kaba, who is now a Commissioner at the Liberia Land Authority.

Speaking in 2021 at a conservation event in Monrovia, Cllr. Negbalee Warner, a senior partner at Heritage Partners and Associates (HPA) and one of the laws’ crafters, somehow acknowledged the “overlap” SDI spoke of.

“If there is anything, it is that the provisions of the two laws are in some instances [overlapped], although an argument can be made that the more appropriate term will be ‘reinforcing,’” said Warner. “The [land leadership] is therefore superior to all the structures established by the [Community Rights Law].”

‘Confusion will do nothing’

Bonathan Walaka, the lead facilitator of the National Union of Community Forest Management Body, says that understanding the roles and responsibilities of the two groups is crucial for progress.

The union intends to hold a forum with national stakeholders of the sectors to help ease the tension between community leaders. “The [forest leadership] should know that those who own the land are the community [people] and that they are only managing the forest,” Walaka says.

Augustine Dweh, the chairperson of a network of community land managers, agrees with Walaka, saying education and awareness are crucial to the solution.

An elevated view of the Sehyi Ko-doo Community Forest in Nimba County. The DayLight/Derick Snyder

The same goes for Eddie Beangar, Nimba County’s Land Administrator. “Having both them to understand their roles and to ensure that their involvement impacts the environment positively,” says Beangar.

Back in Sehyi, Dolo and Flomo are willing to work together. Dolo promises to invite Flomo and his team to an impending meeting, hoping to pave the way for a renewed, smooth relationship. The same goes for Flomo

“[Anything] that is better for Sehyi, Sehyi Ko-doo will accept, Flomo tells The DayLight in an interview at an entrance of the mountainous forest. “Confusion will do nothing for us.”

Illegal Miners Encroach on Wologizi Forest

October 29, 2024

Top: Illicit miners are ravaging the Wologizi Proposed Protected Area, according to a ranger and a community leader. The DayLight/Esau J. Farr

By Varney Kamara

GANTA, Nimba County – Illicit miners have encroached on the Wologizi Proposed Protected Area in Lofa County, according to a ranger and a community leader. Illegal miners have overrun this critical habitat, smuggling gold and diamonds into neighboring Guinea.

“We are just starting to tackle these issues. We are working hard to minimize them,” said Momo Ricks, an FDA ranger stationed there. “Illegal activities like these harm the environment.”

Ricks revealed this information at a recent community forestry meeting in Ganta, Nimba County, where regional leaders discussed sustainable ways for communities to benefit from forest resources.

Ricks’ comments were supported by Anthony Sumo, the community land and development committee (CLDMC) chairman of Zogoleemai Township, where portions of Wologizi and Wonegizi Proposed Protected Areas are located. Sumo added that locals were making efforts to combat illegal mining.

“We are actively fighting against these activities, especially in areas close to the river,” Sumo said.

The 28,894-hectare forest is a part of the Wonegizi-Wologizi Ziama (WWZ) cross-border landscape, linking Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. It hosts endangered species like chimpanzees and pygmy hippopotamus. It is one of Liberia’s protected areas, covering over 1.14 million hectares of humid rainforests.

Despite legal safeguards, unlawful practices continue in the vast forest. Community resistance, weak law enforcement, and limited deterrents have worsened illegal activities.

“The community has requested more forest guards, better salaries, and stronger partnership support, but resources have yet to materialize,” said Sumo. “For conservation to succeed, we need consistent backing. Without it, we risk losing the forest and its benefits.

“We are focused on resisting illegal activities, like logging while promoting sustainable practices that support our community,” Sumo added.

The news of illegal mining supports a 2020 report by Fauna & Flora International, which found habitat loss from unregulated activities.

CORRECTION: This version of the story corrects a previous version, which mistook Wonegizi for Wologizi. It also corrects Anthony Sumo’s title as the community land development and management committee chairman of the Zogoleemai Township, not the Wonegizi Proposed Protected Area.

The story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists (CoFEJ).

Communities Desire Direct Benefits to Conserve Forests

October 26, 2024

Top: A view of the Sehyi Ko-doo Community Forest in Nimba County. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

By Varney Kamara

GANTA, Nimba County – Local communities are firm on conserving their forests but they want direct benefits from doing so.

“We’ve noticed that not giving funds directly to communities led to too many bureaucracies with limited social and economic impacts on the communities,” said Anthony Sumo, a community leader in the Proposed Wologizi and Wonegizi Protected Areas in Lofa County. The areas are part of the Wologizi-Wonegizi-Ziama belt, extending Guinea and connecting to Sierra Leone, and home to the critically endangered pigmy hippopotamus.

“Every day we hear about the money coming, but not much of how much development it brought to the community. There is a need to change things around.”

Sumo is one of 41 people from northern and northeastern Liberia who attended a recent meeting in Ganta, Nimba County to identify new ways local people could benefit from keeping their forests standing.

Their views and an emerging report on options Liberia could pursue to generate revenue will be developed into a proposal and turned over to the government and international partners for possible action.

The Community Rights Law… and Land Rights Act grant locals ownership of ancestral territories. Up to 75 percent of Liberia’s land is under customary control, including 1.3 million hectares of community forests and 1 million large-scale logging concessions.

Locals also support Liberia’s commitments to combat climate change, including halving deforestation, restoring a quarter of its degraded forests and reducing gases from forest use. A host of communities run conservation programs and support protected and proposed protected areas, covering 1.14 million hectares.

Yet those communities have not significantly gained from forest resources over the last one and a half decades. Failed logging contracts have left debts, abandoned logs and anger countrywide, while communities have struggled to profit from local conservation efforts.

“Any benefits that come from preserving the forests should go directly to the people, instead of passing through multiple organizations or international people,” said Sumo in an interview with The DayLight. “That’s what we have been asking for.”

Those views were echoed by other community leaders in Salayea, Blei, Sehyi Ko-doo and Zor and Gba.

Robert Mahn, a leader of the Zor Community Forest in the Sanniquellie-Mahn District of Nimba, said direct benefits were necessary for residents to manage and maintain ownership. The mountainous Zor, Gba and Blei are conservation community forests adjacent to the East Nimba Nature Reserve, an 11,538-hectare forest that is home to chimpanzees and the Nimba toad.

Over 40 people and rangers from communities and the East Nimba Nature Reserve discussed local people’s benefits from keeping their forest standing. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

“I feel that direct funding will boost our CLDMC’s involvement in decision-making, helping us use our benefits more effectively,” said Mahn.

“The people depended on these forests from our ancestral days. Now that you want them to manage and protect it in other ways, you need to provide benefits like soap-making, women’s arts, tailoring, village saving loans, animal raring, and more,” said Yassah Mulbah, the chief officer of the Salayea Authorized Forest Community.

Eight thousand two hundred and seventy hectares Lofa County, Salayea, runs a conservation program, focusing on livelihood projects Mulbah mentioned.

But other attendees, including Grace Kotee, a ranger with the East Nimba Nature Reserve, caution against mismanagement. They referenced an instance in the Korninga A Community Forest in Gbarpolu, where townsmen were tried for allegedly misusing US$76,000.

“We think that providing direct benefits to communities is a good idea but we have a little bit of concern about this. There should be a process or system put in place that will make them to be accountable,” said Kotee.

All parties agreed NGOs were crucial to communities’ conservation efforts. However, most frowned on NGOs implementing projects for communities.

Ericson Flomo, the chief officer of Sehyi Ko-doo Authorized Community Forest, called on conservation donors and the government to empower communities.

The community has planted 30,000 indigenous and fruit trees, one of the highest totals in the country. Sehyi Ko-doo has an MoU with ArcelorMittal Liberia in which the company pays a dozen local forest guards a monthly stipend.

“We want to get things done,” Flomo told The DayLight at Sehyi Ko-doo’s border with Gba amid the hooting of chimpanzees. “We just need the right training and resources to succeed.”

Silas Siakor, the Country Manager of Dutch NGO IDH, who was one of the workshop’s facilitators, welcomed the participants’ views.

“By protecting their resources, they can access funds tied to conservation ownership,” said Siakor. “The objective is to identify other sources of economic benefits and revenue that you can use for your own development as a community, as an incentive for you to better manage your forest.

“The idea is to balance conservation with community needs.”

The next discussions will be held in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County. After that, Inclusive Development Consultancy will draft the proposal on how communities can benefit from sustainably managing their forest.

Lofa Accountant Continues to Extort Plank Dealers

May 28, 2024

Top: Garmai Kennedy, Lofa County Accountant, llegally collects L$1,000 from each truck transporting planks within and out of Lofa County. The DayLight/Mason Kollie

By Mason Kollie

VOINJAMA, Lofa County – In August last year, the Superintendent of Lofa County William Tamba Kamba abolished an illegal fee he imposed on planks leaving the northwestern county following a DayLight investigation.

Kamba had accepted that the collection was illegal.

“We stopped the toll collection [because] the county council comprising of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, [the Ministry of Internal Affairs], CSOs, and the youths did not approve [it],” said Kamba then.

Yet, a few months after Kamba’s admission, Garmai Kennedy, Lofa County’s accountant, reintroduced the illegal toll system.

Like under Kamba, plank dealers pay Kennedy L$1,000 for a truckload of planks transported within and out of the county, receipts of the transactions show.

“As long you are taking wood from Voinjama to Monrovia, you need to pay the Superintendent fee…, which I did two weeks ago,” Vesselee Lakpawolo, a plank dealer, said.

“I sent wood in town [recently] to my brother. I paid for the Superintendent fee to Garmai Kennedy, the accountant of the county,” Lakpawolo added, brandishing a receipt.

Lofa County Accountant Garmai Kennedy writes a receipt for a plank dealer at a carpenter shop in Voinjama. The DayLight/Mason Kollie

Plank dealers pay the fees directly to Kennedy, who gives them a receipt. She collects the fees at her home, in the streets of Voinjama and at the city’s checkpoint. One picture shows Kennedy writing a receipt to a dealer at a carpenter shop.

Kennedy has refused to account for the funds she has received, saying the money was for office use. “We have to buy [a] new flag, and facilitate some senior staff’s movements around the county,” she said.

Kennedy has been a cornerstone of the illegal plank toll in Lofa. During Kamba’s administration, she was responsible for collecting fees from all parts of the county, documents show.

A receipt The DayLight obtained in 2022 as part of another investigation revealed she received L$53,125 from a toll agent in Vahun. Kamba had introduced the illegal payment scheme in Vahun, following a leadership issue there before duplicating it throughout Lofa.

A 2019 document shows that she made several disbursements from fees collected from chainsaw millers in Foya.

County authorities collecting fees on plank goes against the practices of chainsaw milling, even in its unregulated state.

A man head carries planks in a forest in Kpasagizia, Lofa County in 2022. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

Local plank production or chainsaw milling began after the Second Liberian Civil War (1998-2003). It is the sole distributor of planks to domestic markets, with an estimated value between US$30 million and US$41 million, according to a 2017 report.

However, chainsaw milling has been unregulated since its emergence. Chainsaw millers get their wood by negotiating with forest owners in rural communities through verbal agreements. They pay the Forestry Development Authority (FDA)US$.60 per plank.

The Chainsaw Milling Regulation, completed by the FDA in 2022 and is yet to be enforced, recognizes community and FDA payments, but not the Office of the Superintendent.

Acting Superintendent Forkpa Roberts claims the toll collection is legal, citing a law. “Under the Local Governance Law (Act), the county authority has the right to generate revenue on [its] own,” Roberts told The DayLight.

Roberts’ claim is incorrect. The Local Government Act does not give superintendents or their staff any power to levy fees on any good. That power lies solely in the county council, a group that comprises chiefs, the youths, and the disabled community.

A county council has not been formed in Lofa, and superintendents or their staff are not members of the body, according to the law.

That was the same wrong claim Kamba made to defend the illegal toll system before admitting it was unlawful.

This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists (CoFEJ).

Weary of Logging Contracts, Locals Doubtful of Carbon Deal

September 18, 2023

Top: Liberia’s proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Blue Carbon of the United Arab Emirates targets areas in Lofa County, which hosts logging agreements. The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

By Emmanuel Sherman

MONROVIA – Forest communities across the country have shown reluctance over Liberia’s negotiation with UAE-based Blue Carbon fearing it would fail them like logging contracts.

Blue Carbon, owned by a member of the Royal family of the United Arab Emirates, signed a carbon credit memorandum of understanding (MoU) in March with the Liberian government.

The deal intends to cover over one million hectares of forestlands in River Cess, Sinoe, Gbarpolu, Lofa and Margibi, places that have had bad experiences with logging contracts.

“We are already challenged with [logging] that has a legal framework,” says Andrew Zelemen, the national facilitator of the National Union of Community Forest Development Committee (NUCFDC), comprising some 500 logging-affected communities.

“Our fear is the actual benefit community should get may not get because we don’t know how it is and how it will be,” adds Zelemen.

Logging companies began signing contracts with forest communities over 15 years ago, a major component of Liberia’s forestry reform.

But most contracts have failed, with companies owing huge sums of land rentals and harvesting fees. They have failed to start or complete mandatory projects.

Matthew Walley, an affected community leader of a 57,287-hectare forest that the proposed agreement targets, questions the proposed MoU’s payment method.

“If I get 57,000 hectares preserved as carbon area, what will be the calculation? How will it be done? Through what kind of benefit-sharing mechanism,” says Walley.

“The government can’t just come and say this place is declared as a carbon area. We will not accept it,” says Walley.

Andrew Zelemen, national coordinator, National Union of Community Forest Development Committee (NUCFDC). The DayLight/James Harding Giahyue

Blue Carbon intends to avoid the pitfall of logging, according to the draft agreement, seen by The DayLight. Communities stand to receive a credit royalty of 10 percent of the value of the carbon credits the forest will generate.

It proposes a payment scheme through a five-person committee, two each from the community and the government and one from Blue Carbon.

“Community will directly benefit from a dedicated Account, not the consolidated account,” says Adams Manobah, the Chairman of Liberia Land Authority (LLA). “And that benefit will go directly into their own account that will be controlled by the people themselves.”

The International community has criticized the proposed payment mode for being vague, according to a document seen by The DayLight.

But communities should not depend on Blue Carbon’s contract for their shares of carbon credits, according to Zelemen. There should be a “roadmap” for carbon trading.

In the roadmap, develop a legal framework that will guide the process of carbon trade like we have law guiding timber trade,” says Zelemen. NGOs have made the same call.

Both Blue Carbon and Liberia want the deal to help their climate targets. Liberia has a commitment to reduce carbon emissions in its forestry sector in halves by 2030. Blue Carbon, on the other hand, intends to remove carbon from the global economy with such MoUs in line with the UN agenda to combat climate change.

But communities have not been consulted, a violation of Liberia’s Land Rights Act (LRA) and the Community Rights Law of 2009 with Respect to Forest Land, and other legal instruments.

These laws give the communities the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) to land and forest-related concessions. A UN-backed doctrine, FPIC requires that villagers give their consent to contracts prior to any project or negotiation.

“I’m not aware [of] the negotiation between the government of Liberia and the Blue Carbon company from UAE,” said Jerome Poye, a member of an affected community in Gibi District, Margibi County, that the draft agreement also targets.

Tag: Lofa County

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