The GFC may be breaking its own Forests ACT, 2009

Oct 27, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
Charles Thom ranged over the letters of the alphabet in enumerating my alleged misdeeds and in defence of the Guyana Forestry Commission (KN, ‘Dr. Janette Bulkan is wrong for the following reasons’, 24 October 2016). He even applauds the GFC for imposing fines on “we loggers”: He writes; “The sector probably has the highest level of monetary penalties imposed (since court is too expensive in terms of time and cost) for operational breaches.”
Sorry, Mr Thom, but the last time I checked, the rule of law is claimed still to operate in Guyana. Under “Offences may be compounded”, Section 71(2) of the Forests Act 2009 stipulates: “The Commission shall not compound any act or omission unless it is satisfied that
(a) the offence concerned is trivial or minor; and
(b) the person concerned has not previously committed another offence of a similar nature in Guyana.”
In plain English, the GFC has been breaking its own Forests Act 2009 if any logger or trucker was fined MORE THAN ONCE for any one kind of alleged offence. You can reject any attempt by GFC staff to offer compounding for a second or subsequent allegation of that offence. I doubt that you will thank me but you can all ask GFC for refunds. The GFC must take you to court for any second or subsequent infraction – according to its own law.
Janette Bulkan

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