The Forestry Development Authority (FDA), through the Deputy Managing Director for Operations, Gertrude W. K. Nyaley, on Friday, April 11, 2025 arrested 23 Burkinabe in Gbarzon Township, Grand Gedeh County. Following the arrest, the 23 Burkinabes were processed through the offices of the statutory superintendent and the Gbarzon police commander to Zwedru city for court prosecution.
The arrest was made through the assistance of the CFMB officer for Bloquiah in Gbarzon statutory district, Sampson Zammie. Zammie encountered the Burkinabe in Zarzar Town in Gbarzon statutory district carrying on deforestation at the concession area. The 23 Burkinabes were brought into the district by Zarzar town chief, Big-boy Zarzar to work on his farm. The town chief, accordingly, is farming at the Emmanuel Logging Company concession area. Big-boy Zarzar’s farming is depleting the forest which is the operation area of Emmanuel Logging company in Grand Gedeh. The company has since informed the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) about the constant habit of Gbarzon community dwellers for farming at the concession area using the Burkinabes. Those citizens involved in hosting of the Burkinabe are reportedly planting cocoa and making rice farm in the concession area thus destroying the logs.
The FDA team headed by the Deputy Managing Director for Operations Nyaley, visited Gbarzon as part of the fact-finding mission in the Southeast and met the Statutory Superintendent, Alfred Garley investigating the Burkinabes that were arrested in Zarzar Town case. The Statutory Superintendent was seen on a holiday, Friday,(fast and prayer day) carrying out a function of the judiciary branch as official of the executive branch of government judging case which should have been judged by the magisterial court. He was seen with the Liberian flag hanging at the back of his desk while executing his function on a holiday.
Residents of the community have questioned the independence of the statutory Superintendent, Garley to preside over the case because he has two of his immediate staffs accused of hosting Burkinabes on their respective farm on his desk. The two accused staffs include; Albert Moew, Administrative Assistant and Albert Blaty, Secretary General to the Statutory Superintendent. It is also reported that City Mayor, Arthur Sartoe is also hosting Burkinabes on his farm and always resisted the arrest of Burkinabes in the district. FDA was unable to reach the city mayor regarding the allegation of hosting Burkinabes on his farm.
According to a staff of the Emmanuel Logging Company, Amos, the action of the Burkinabes in the concession area is impeding the workings of the company in that part of Grand Gedeh. The company, according to him, has not exported logs from the concession area due to a serious resistance from the Burkinabes. In some instances, Amos said the Burkinabes burnt the bridge linking the concession area to the main road in order not to get the logs out.
As part of the fact-finding mission, the FDA team conducted a roundtable discussion with the Vice Principal for Academic Affairs at the Zwedru University, Abraham Tarlue Gbeway, regarding the forest sector. Gbeway emphasized the need for the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) to be very proactive in handling the Burkinabes issue in the county. He said the action of the Burkinabes in the county is gradually going off-hand and, therefore, needs to be resisted by the government. He is however calling on the national government through the Forestry Development Authority and the Ministry of Justice to speedily come to the aid of the county to get the Burkinabes out of the county. While it is true that some prominent citizens of the county are hosting the Burkinabes for farming purpose in the county, Gbeway said some of them as citizens of the county are totally against the act of bringing foreign nationals (Burkinabes) in the county for farming purpose. He is moreover appealing to FDA to urgently act on the Burkinabes issue and consider it as a national problem for the country.
At the office of the statutory superintendent, the Deputy Managing Director for FDA, Nyaley told the Burkinabes reasons why they were arrested by the FDA officer. She explained to them that where they are working was a concession area and therefore, their work was in complete violation of the concession agreement between the community, government and the company. The FDA Deputy Managing Director revealed to them through a French interpreter that their workings especially at the concession area is impending government’s operations because the company working in that part of the country is paying the required tax to the government of Liberia of which the community is benefiting.
The 23 Burkinabes were transported to Zwedru with a compiled charged sheet document from the offices of the statutory superintendent and the police commander in Gbarzon.
The fact-finding mission team comprising of Theodore Nna of SGS, Augustine Teekloh of LRA, FDA Deputy Managing Director Nyaley, FDA IT Person, Morris Sheriff, Emmanuel Logging company representative Amos, driver, media consultant and FDA region 4 team. The team conducted one hour talk-show interview on Smile FM in Zwedru on the purpose of their mission in the county.