By: Nyima Sillah
Official source on Tuesday allegedly accused President Adama Barrow and three other senior officials at the State House of being responsible for timber exportation from The Gambia.
In an exclusive interview, the source revealed to this medium that the timber exportation is above the Department of Forestry due to the bad governance system existing in the country.
“When the ministry announced banned on timber export, these trucks, and the containers during the banned period exported timbers oversea,” the source claimed.
Our source when further outlined that the trucks, January 17, 2022, numbered BJL 7284 T, KM 2497 D, KM 3604 D, BJL 0894 Q, BJL 3123 H, BJL 9101 M, BJL 5322 R, BJL 5436 N, BJL 5380 N and BJL 0097 R overseen by Kalipha Bah
The Containers, January 1, 2022, FCIU 558664-0-CSNU 168689-4, EUTU 227455-3 -FFAU140200-4, CSLU 181767-8 20f, UETU 220986-1 20f, TLLU 299763-9 20f, FCIU 6132318 20f, SEGU 288527-2 20f, SEGU 203498-, TRHU 384187-5 20f, 263277-5 20f all overseen by Kalipha Bah,” he disclosed.
“Former President Yahya Jammeh was directly controlling the timber business and from him, President Adama Barrow also came in and take direct control over the business,” our source added.
“We have containers that were controlled under the business of this present president Adama Barrow and three big people who are responsible in bringing the Cargo ship and they are also responsible for collecting the timbers and taking it to the container and Gambian government is not realizing nothing from it but all goes to them and this was thousands of containers and millions of logs all exported to overseas by them,” the source further disclosed.
“From March to April 2022, many tons of timbers were not under the control of the Forestry Department but under the Head of State Adama Barrow because hundreds of containers loading taking off from the ports in Banjul to the ship, that ship was in the big sea and was loaded until it was filled up and departed then was left from there.”
Source pointed out that the Forestry Department has no say in the timber trade because they are sidelined due to the fact that huge money is involved in the business which is a hard currency for that matter.
The source claimed that the “Forestry Department was not even involved to supervise to see whether it is wrong or right as they were totally exempted from it till date.”
According to the Source, the Department of Forestry makes revenue whenever the ban is lifted, but when they want to play their dubious act, they will ban the trade.
“When they say is open people can export, it will be coming like 10-20 but when they say it is banned no export, then it becomes hundreds and thousands at a go because that goes directly into their pockets,” the source explained said when it is open the revenue goes into the government’s coffer that is the Forestry’s coffer.
Forestry collects revenue but when it is banned, forestry has no right to collect revenue. They do that to play cards so that they fill their pockets.
“It is just recently when it is open and the lisense was given to their favorites which is totally wrong because when the timber business was starting in the Gambia under ex-President Yahya Jammeh, the Department of Forestry put regulations in place by producing correct papers, reliable documents without that you will not allow to export.
“But by the time when these African hungry presidents realized that there is money in it and hard currency for that matter involved, they elbowed out the Forestry Department and take them out from the system. They give it to their political appointees which are the Ministers. The Ministers are responsible for everything because they are their drivers,” the source alleged.
“As we are right now, from January to date, the Department of Forestry is not operating because they have no money to operate and there is no money in the National Forestry Funds the NFF is totally empty up till date.
“How can they work? How can they execute their work above all when they (politicians) are there to dominate them in their activity because of the big money that is there? Nothing goes to the Department of Forestry as revenue, nothing goes as revenue to the Gambians but all goes to their individual Bank Accounts and their individual pockets this is the reality on the ground. This bad governance is really making the Gambia become poorer and poorer and deteriorate,” our source divulged.
