Dr. Hug Brown, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission, has transferred two staff members in a letter purportedly implicating him for allegedly awarding timber contracts without proper due diligence, involving an individual presumed to be a loyalist of the NPP.
The Forestry Commission which is an important sector to Ghana’s economy has in recent months faced harsh criticisms and has been subjected to intense scrutiny under the leadership of Dr. Brown who has been accused of prioritizing his interest above that of the Commission amid allegations of dubious permits and transfers.
The aforementioned transfers, according to insider sources, indicate a flagrant violation of established principles and an administrative overreach.
Credible sources indicate that the CEO authorized 107 forest compartments to Supremo Wood Company, which is owned by the recognized NPP loyalist, Francis Donkor.
However, in a letter addressed to Dr. Brown, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, ordered for the suspension and revocation of all the approved contracts.
After the Sector Minister got involved and issued a directive, reports suggest that the CEO has begun targeting staff in the Commission’s Registry section whom he suspects of disseminating critical information to party affiliates due to their purported connections with the NDC.
A letter sighted by this portal reveals that the two officers have been reassigned to different stations: one to the Amasaman office and the other to the Accra Regional Office, without any prior notice to the Corporate Human Resource Directorate.
According to insider sources, the Forestry Commission CEO personally wrote the letters and gave them out circumventing established administrative protocols.
Staff have expressed concerns regarding this decision, perceiving it as a troubling circumstance that may demoralize them owing to fears of political persecution, job insecurity, and the absence of due process under the current CEO’s leadership.
