{"id":5479,"date":"2024-10-20T18:17:09","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T18:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/?p=5479"},"modified":"2024-10-21T10:14:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T10:14:04","slug":"lofa-plank-toll-halted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/2024\/10\/20\/lofa-plank-toll-halted\/","title":{"rendered":"Lofa Halts Illegal Plank Toll"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Top: Lofa authorities have stopped collecting L$1,000 on trucks transporting planks within and out of the county following a DayLight series. The DayLight\/James Harding Giahyue<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

By Mason Kollie<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

VIONJAMA \u2013 There is evidence an illegal toll system for planks transported within and out of Lofa County, introduced<\/a> by former Superintendent William Tamba Kamba, has been abolished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamba announced scrapping the so-called Superintendent toll last year, following a DayLight investigation, admitting to its illegality. Yet, Lofa County Accountant Garmai Kennedy, one of the scheme\u2019s masterminds, continued<\/a> to collect the fees up to May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that has changed since another DayLight investigation<\/a> exposed Kennedy. Interviews with key players in the chainsaw milling subindustry in the county and months of observation show the collections have been halted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImmediately we got the publication from your newspaper, we stopped the process,\u201d said Superintendent Lavala Massaquoi in a DayLight interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo more toll collection in Lofa County for now,\u201d said Sekou Kamara, the chairman of the Lofa County\u2019s branch of the Liberia Chainsaw and Timber Dealers Union (LICSATDUN).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between May and now, this reporter observed Kennedy no longer collected L$1,000 for a truckload of planks. Kennedy has also stopped enforcing the illegal payment at plank posts in Voinjama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reporter did not find collectors previously posted at a Forestry Development Authority (FDA) checkpoint in Voinjama. Inquiries at checkpoints in Zorzor and Salayea showed the same result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs for me, I [don\u2019t] want lie, the way the woman and her agents used to run behind us from checkpoint to checkpoint and all in the corners, I [don\u2019t] see them again,\u201d Selekie Turay, a trucker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly the FDA fee I can pay to the checkpoint. I traveled more than two times and nobody can collect superintendent fees from me,\u201d Turay added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only the FDA and LICSATDUN collect fees on each plank transported within the country, per the Chainsaw Milling Regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Counties can levy fees on planks under the Local Government Act<\/a>. However, that power lies in the county council, a governance body that comprises chiefs, the youth and the disabled community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy denies any wrongdoing. She claims she used the fees to buy a flag and underwrote senior staff\u2019s travel costs, presenting no evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Massaquoi said the county was investigating to confirm that claim. \u201c\u2018No business as usual,\u2019\u201d he said, referencing the Boakai administration\u2019s anti-corruption slogan. \u201cIf she is guilty, the law will punish her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists (CoFEJ)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top: Lofa authorities have stopped collecting L$1,000 on trucks transporting planks within and out of the county following a DayLight series. The DayLight\/James Harding Giahyue By Mason Kollie VIONJAMA \u2013 There is evidence an illegal toll system for planks transported within and out of Lofa County, introduced by former Superintendent William Tamba Kamba, has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2091],"tags":[2855,123,2854,2853],"class_list":["post-5479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-impact","tag-chainsaw-milling-regulation","tag-forestry-development-authority","tag-local-government-act","tag-superintendent-j-lavala-massaquoi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"Lofa Halts Illegal Plank Toll - The DayLight","description":"There is evidence an illegal toll system for planks transported within and out of Lofa County has been abolished.","canonical_url":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/2024\/10\/20\/lofa-plank-toll-halted\/","robots":"noindex, nofollow, max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"msvalidate.01":"CA6BD2F84653EA44942A55ABC0B35372","miscellaneous":""},"schema":null,"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"The DayLight - The DayLight is a nonprofit, environmental news website. 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