The future of most of the GFC staff seem bleak

May 08, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

I must commend this Government for the great work they have done so far, and I am a big supporter of this Government, but I am very disappointed in Minister Trotman from the Ministry of Natural Resources. The staff at the Guyana Forestry Commission is in fear that they may lose their jobs after hearing that Guyana Forestry Commission does not have monies to pay staff and a restructuring of the Commission will occur. All I want to know why is Minister Trotman allowing the restructuring to happen when the proposed structure does not cater to the current 450 plus staff?
Clayton Hall, the convenor of the restructuring task force, already told us that he cannot guarantee us that our jobs will be saved. Why can’t the Government cushion the Guyana Forestry Commission until the logging sector picks up? Why is the staff being punished from the loss of revenue from the closure of companies that generated high production?
I must also remind you Minister Trotman, the convenor of this taskforce was once the Commissioner of the Guyana Forestry Commission who had implemented many failed policies where history will show that it was one of the most challenging times at the Commission. After the removal of Clayton Hall as Commissioner only then the Commission started to be recognised both locally and internationally for carrying its mandate of promoting sustainable forestry management in a very effective and transparent process. Since 2016, Clayton Hall has been placed on the board at the Guyana Forestry Commission and again many failed policies were once more introduced. His inputs on the Board only led to many bad policies, which had a direct impact on the revenue generation of the Guyana Forestry Commission. Many logging companies were closed based on Hall’s personal biases towards these companies. The closure of these companies like Barama and Bai Shan Lin came with no other revenue alternatives. This is why the GFC is having a hard time recovering financially.
Clayton Hall has referred to the staff at the Forestry Commission as ‘not bright enough’ but what I can tell you Honourable Minister is that the staff of the commission is bright enough to tell you this restructuring will give the Commission no revenue but rather it is a mechanism for clear witch hunting to fire staff that Mr. Hall personally dislikes or feel is a threat to him because of their genuine objection to his failed policies.
Minister Trotman, restructuring the Guyana Forestry Commission during election time is a poor political move. The staff is highly negatively impacted as they are now even less motivated to do their jobs since they were told by Clayton Hall that their jobs are not secured at the moment. They are now worried about losing their jobs rather than focusing on completing their work. Minister Trotman, I really hope you listen to us and if you do not listen to us, we will have our final say during this upcoming election by casting our vote to whoever listens to us.

Concerned Staff

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