The NEWS (Monrovia)
4 July 2008
Monrovia — The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) says its attention has been drawn to the July 3, 2008 front-page publication of The News Newspaper, captioned: "FINANCE WARNS FDA AGAINST INDEBTED LOGGING COMPANIES.
In a release issued yesterday, FDA claimed that the paper accused authorities of FDA of having personal interest in the Liberia Tree and Trading Corporation against the warning of the Ministry of Finance.
However, the paper said the FDA was not accused in its publication; instead, it quoted a letter addressed to FDA Managing Director John Woods from Finance Minister Dr. Antoinette Sayeh warning the FDA to disallow bid or pre-qualification documents from companies indebted to government.
FDA: "The paper said the Finance Ministry had warned the FDA against qualifying logging companies that are in tax arrears, with specific reference to the Liberia Tree and Trading Corporation, which is indebted to the government in the tune of US $ 165,614.00."
The FDA release also quoted the paper as saying that in addition to its huge indebtedness, the Liberia Tree and Trading Corporation allegedly obtained a fraudulent letter of credit and government tax clearance that require a probe of the company.
The FDA sees these insinuations and unsubstantiated allegations as a deliberate attempt by the News newspaper to denigrate the massive effort of the Government of Liberia, FDA and its many partners to ensure sustainable management of the forest sector of Liberia for the greater good of all Liberians by placing a wedge between the FDA and the Finance Ministry on one hand, and FDA and the international community on the other.
Records are available to show that the FDA has remained consistent in ensuring that the Public Procurement and Concession Act which stipulates the settlement of all tax arrears with the Government of Liberia prior to qualifying any applicant for pre-qualification is upheld to the letter.
However, the FDA did not make reference to Finance Minister Antoinette Sayeh's communication dated June 16, 2008; instead, FDA added that it is in constant communication with Finance Ministry authorities to ensure that only applicants with tax clearances are qualified for pre-qualification.
In a letter dated June 16, 2008, addressed to FDA Managing Director John Woods, Finance Minister Dr. Antoinette Sayeh advised the FDA to disallow bid or pre-qualification documents from the Liberia Tree & Trading Corporation.
The Minister indicated that the Public Procurement and Concession Act (PPCA) prohibits companies in tax arrears and with such fraudulent record from participating in logging operation.
"We wish to convey the Ministry of Finance's position that companies under this category should not be allowed to bid for Timber sales and Forestry Management Contracts," a letter signed by Sayeh emphasized.
"The FDA demands an unreserved apology from the News Newspaper and an immediate and unconditional retraction of this publication.
FDA claims that its operations are "open and transparent", and that those interested in obtaining information on such operations may contact its offices.
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