Staff Who Generated GHC623k Revenue Were Not Interdicted in Under-invoicing Case- Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission has provided clarity to the reported interdiction of two staff over the generation of revenue.
In a statement, it said two of its staff who generated an amount of GHC623,000 for the state in an under-invoicing case were not interdicted.
It explained that the interdiction followed the interception of a truck with registration number AS 3990-25, carrying sawn lumber which had purportedly been auctioned by the Mim TIDD office en route to Garu in the Upper East Region on October 29 2025, at the Techimantia Checkpoint, managed by the National Timber Monitoring Team.
It said a detailed check conducted on the lumber in the truck and the accompanying documents revealed that it was under-invoiced.
“A total of 3,026 pieces of lumber were counted in the truck, which has an official value of GHC76,650.00, based on the Commission’s standard rate. Meanwhile, the invoice and accompanying receipt were issued to cover the 3,026 pieces of lumber in the truck by the Mim TIDD staff with a face value of GHC25,000.”
In addition, it said there were over 800 pieces of lumber out of the 3,026 pieces on the truck with dimensions different from what were indicated on the accompanying documents.
This breached a directive issued by the Chief Executive of the Commission on April 17 2025, in a move to address widespread reported cases of collusion of some officers with some timber cartels involved in the processing and transportation of illegally harvested timber and timber products, by issuing official documentation to cover such timber products, and grossly under-invoicing the same.
Therefore, in response to this, it said that the Commission interdicted the officers involved to pave the way for a full-scale investigation by a six-member committee.
Contrary to reports, it said that Felix Gatiba, the Ahafo Area Manager, and Eric Boamah, an Inspector, were not interdicted because they generated revenue to the tune of GHC623,000 for the Commission.
It stated, “The Forestry Commission recognises the hard work of its staff and has instituted the annual End-of-Year Staff Recognition Awards, where staff who excel in their various fields of work are recognised and rewarded.”
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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