{"id":5836,"date":"2025-02-08T12:55:16","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T12:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/?p=5836"},"modified":"2025-02-08T13:11:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T13:11:49","slug":"top-forestry-company-operates-illegally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/2025\/02\/08\/top-forestry-company-operates-illegally\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Forestry Company Operates Illegally"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Top: Krish Veneer Industries operates illegally in Liberia. The DayLight\/Emmanuel Sherman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

By James Harding Giahyue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

MONROVIA \u2013 A DayLight investigation has unearthed a top-level forestry company that does not meet the requirements to operate in Liberia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krish Veneer Industries, a sawmill in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, and an exporter of veneer and round logs, is a partnership, rendering it ineligible to operate. Forestry companies are restricted to corporations, not NGOs, sole proprietorships, or partnerships, according to the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2007 provision is in line with the Public Procurement and Concession Act<\/a>, meant to provide the government with more tax opportunities and predictability. Corporations have limitless liabilities and lifespan, experts say.  Partnerships do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The provision is part of measures to ensure forest resources are managed commercially sustainably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krish\u2019s two partners are Atique Ahmed and Kamal Parwani. Both Indians, they hold 57  percent and 43 percent shares, respectively, according to the company\u2019s legal documents. It was established in 2019, based on its business registration certificate enrolled at the Libera Business Registry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A screenshot of the relevant provision of the Regulation on Bidder Qualifications prohibits partnerships from conducting forestry activities in Liberia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
A screenshot of Krish Veneer Industries\u2019 current business registration certificate, proving that the company is a partnership, not a corporation as it is required of forestry businesses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018My plywood factory\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid its illegitimacy, Krish has been one of the most active companies in a largely dormant logging industry. Last year, it made several round log exports, according to Ministry of Commerce and Industry and FDA records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trade Mo, a US-based company that tracks global supply chains, reports that Krish has imported assorted items 564 times and exported veneer eight times<\/a> between 2021 and 2024. Those transactions are valued at US$1.2 million. (Derived from trees, a veneer is a thin decorative wood applied to materials).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clarence Massaquoi, Krish\u2019s general manager, did not return questions about the company\u2019s status.  However, in a recent DayLight interview, Massaquoi, whose contract with an unlawful community forest<\/a> the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) recently approved,  referenced Krish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing his capacity to manage a forest following an unsuccessful previous contract<\/a>, Massaquoi said, \u201cI have buyers. I can sell to my plywood factory. My buyers are right in Buchanan,\u201d Massaquoi told The DayLight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FDA Managing Director Rudolph Merab did not respond to queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This story was a production of the Community of Forest and Environmental Journalists of Liberia (CoFEJ).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top: Krish Veneer Industries operates illegally in Liberia. The DayLight\/Emmanuel Sherman By James Harding Giahyue MONROVIA \u2013 A DayLight investigation has unearthed a top-level forestry company that does not meet the requirements to operate in Liberia. Krish Veneer Industries, a sawmill in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, and an exporter of veneer and round logs, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5839,"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":[82],"tags":[2888,123,1410,107,2892,2893],"class_list":["post-5836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-investigations","tag-clarence-massaquoi","tag-forestry-development-authority","tag-grand-bassa-county","tag-liberia","tag-public-procurement-and-concession-act","tag-regulation-on-bidder-qualifications"],"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":"Top Forestry Company Operates Illegally - The DayLight","description":"MONROVIA \u2013 A DayLight investigation has unearthed a top-level forestry company that does not meet the requirements to operate in Liberia.","canonical_url":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/2025\/02\/08\/top-forestry-company-operates-illegally\/","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. Our evidence-based, independent and quality news contents tell you all the happenings across nature\u2019s frontiers and the extractive sector in Liberia. From forestry and fisheries to wildlife conservation and climate change, from renewable energy and land rights to oil\/gas and oil palm, we bring you news on everything about the environment you need to know. The DayLight is published by The DayLight Incorporated in Vahnwin Community, Congo Town.","og:type":"article","og:title":"Top Forestry Company Operates Illegally - The DayLight","og:description":"MONROVIA \u2013 A DayLight investigation has unearthed a top-level forestry company that does not meet the requirements to operate in Liberia.","og:url":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/2025\/02\/08\/top-forestry-company-operates-illegally\/","og:image":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_2268-scaled.jpg","og:image:secure_url":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_2268-scaled.jpg","og:image:width":2560,"og:image:height":1707,"article:published_time":"2025-02-08T12:55:16+00:00","article:modified_time":"2025-02-08T13:11:49+00:00","article:publisher":"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/news.thedaylight","twitter:card":"summary","twitter:title":"Top Forestry Company Operates Illegally - The DayLight","twitter:description":"MONROVIA \u2013 A DayLight investigation has unearthed a top-level forestry company that does not meet the requirements to operate in Liberia.","twitter:image":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cropped-site-identity.png"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"5836","title":null,"description":"MONROVIA \u2013 A DayLight investigation has unearthed a top-level forestry company that does not meet the requirements to operate in Liberia.","keywords":null,"keyphrases":{"focus":{"keyphrase":"","score":0,"analysis":{"keyphraseInTitle":{"score":0,"maxScore":9,"error":1}}},"additional":[]},"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"default","og_image_type":"default","og_image_url":null,"og_image_width":null,"og_image_height":null,"og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":"","og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":null,"twitter_use_og":false,"twitter_card":"default","twitter_image_type":"default","twitter_image_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"BlogPosting","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[]},"schema_type":"default","schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":"-1","robots_max_videopreview":"-1","robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":"default","local_seo":null,"seo_analyzer_scan_date":"2025-08-15 00:43:34","breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"reviewed_by":null,"ai":null,"created":"2025-02-08 12:55:20","updated":"2025-10-21 23:50:01"},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"

\n\t\t\tHome<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span>\u00bb<\/span>\n\t\t\tInvestigations<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span>\u00bb<\/span>\n\t\t\tTop Forestry Company Operates Illegally\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68"},{"label":"Investigations","link":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/category\/investigations\/"},{"label":"Top Forestry Company Operates Illegally","link":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/2025\/02\/08\/top-forestry-company-operates-illegally\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5836"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5844,"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5836\/revisions\/5844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}