Forestry Commission’s chief, James Singh, departing after 21 years

Dec 28, 2019 News

For 21 years, he led the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC).

Departing: GFC’s Commissioner, James Singh

Battling illness and a tough period for the body which regulates the forestry sector, James Singh will be proceeding on medical leave come 2020.
GFC’s chair, Jocelyn Dow, disclosed yesterday that Singh would be missed after overseeing a challenging time for the Commission.
The search will now be on for another commissioner to lead the entity.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Natural Resources made it clear that it “recognises” the excellent work done by Commissioner Singh and the staff of the Guyana Forestry Commission.
“As Commissioner Singh’s long years of service ends and as he proceeds on medical leave at the start of 2020, the MNR takes this opportunity to thank him for his service and wishes him the best, health wise and in his future endeavours.”
A few years ago, Singh and GFC came under pressure for the seeming lack of oversight on especially BaiShanLin, a Chinese investor that was accused of being granted hundreds of thousands of hectares of forestlands through questionable means.
The subsequent investigations and denials saw the Coalition Government in 2015, months after it came to office, repossessing the forests from BaiShanLin after the investor failed to build a processing facility in keeping its commitments.
GFC was then faced with financial woes after revenues fell and its workload increased from activities relating to the Norway forest deal which called for more monitoring and reporting.
GFC is currently under government scrutiny with a number of reforms recommended.

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