Top: C&C Corporation’s bush manager, Askew Varney, standing before two earthmovers in Vambo Township, Grand Bassa County. The DayLight/Emmanuel Sherman
By Emmanuel Sherman
MONROVIA – Last November, a Du Port Road resident filed a complaint with the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), claiming a large plot in a Grand Bassa community forest. About a month later, Khalil Haider agreed to bargain with the company contracted for the forest and the townspeople.
But in an interesting twist, Mr. Haider now alleges that Clarence Massaquoi, C&C Corporation’s CEO, forged the bargaining letter from which the FDA approved the company’s operations in the Mavasagueh Community Forest.
“I did not write that letter,” Haider said. “I know nothing about it. “He faked the whole letter and my signature.”
Massaquoi and the FDA did not respond to queries for their side of the story.
Last August, Mavasagueh leased 26,003 hectares of forest to CCC in exchange for development. The forest is owned by communities across Vambo and Marloi Townships in Grand Bassa County’s Compound Number Two.
About three months later, Haider wrote the FDA that he owned 3,200 acres of land in the forest. The problematic plot lies between Mt. Findley and the St. John River, presenting a Tubman-era deed seen by The DayLight.
FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab encouraged Haider to negotiate with Mavasagueh and C&C, according to Haider and Massaquoi. Haider agreed and consented to CCC’s operation, though such a compromise is not backed by law.
As part of the compromise, Haider requested US$3,500, but Massaquoi gave him US$1,500, which he disclosed was used to settle his hospital bills.
Then something happened. Locals protested for their exclusion from the community forest process, thrusting Mavasagueh under the spotlight. The three-day protest was called off after the police, Representative Clarence Banks of District 2, and county officials intervened.
To understand the problem, Banks secured Haider’s letter, which was sent to the FDA last year. Haider then realized Massaquoi had allegedly written the FDA in his name. Efforts to reach Banks did not materialize as he is out of Liberia and has not replied to WhatsApp messages.
The controversial letter—obtained by The DayLight—is consistent with a forgery, as it misspells Haider’s full name.
Haider threatened to go to court when he returned from a medical trip. “I will sue C&C [Corporation] for doing this fake thing,” he said.
Haider has rewritten the FDA again on the alleged forgery.
“I am writing you to inquire about the letter that I wrote to you on April 16, 2025, complaining about a fake letter that was given to you by the C&C Corporation claiming that I waived all claims against them,” the letter read.
“I have not received any response from your entity,” added the letter, addressed to Merab.
The forgery allegation is the latest in a series of problems associated with Mavasagueh. Besides, Haider, Amos Lewis, a Marshall resident, claims the same plot as Haider. Mavasagueh was established without the participation of neighboring communities. CCC’s contract was illegally approved because Massaquoi, a wartime logger, is barred from forestry, based on the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications. Krish Veneer Industries, a sawmill in Buchanan to which Massaquoi sells Mavasagueh’s logs, is illegitimate.
By law, the FDA is supposed to halt CCC’s operations and reestablish Mavasagueh, including removing the controversial plot. However, the agency has permitted the contract amid mounting illegalities.
This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).
