A LOGGING company operating in West Makira on Makira Ulawa Province, Chia Tai Logging Company Limited has been told to stop all logging activities with immediate effect.
Chia Tai Logging Company and Uru’u Resource Development has been operating logging activities at Maranu’u Camp in Arosi 1 area of West Makira.
It is one of four logging companies that were warned earlier this year to pay up their outstanding payment business licenses for the financial year 2020/2021 and recorded arrears of for 2018/2019.
The Senior Investment Officer of the Makira Ulawa Provincial Government Ministry of Commerce and Investment, Selwyn Aharo says the Chia Tai Logging Company Ltd has been carrying out logging operations at Maranu’u Camp without a valid business license.
He says this infringes the Provincial Government’s Business License Ordinance of 2016.
Aharo says the Provincial Ministry of Commerce and Investment has penalized Chia Tai Logging Company Ltd and Uru’u Resource Development because they have an outstanding payment of $200,000 for business license for the Financial Year 2020/2021, they have a recorded arrears of $90,000 for 2018/2019 and Chia Tai Logging Company Limited does not have a Provincial Business License.
He says other reasons are the company has a current court instruction to halt logging activities pending into customary lands (18 plots of lands) with the Customary Lands Appeal Court, the provincial ministry is not aware the company does have a Development Consent from the Ministry of Environment nor is it aware it does have an Environment Impact Assessment Report.
Aharo says the Provincial Ministry of Commerce and Investment cannot allow court instructions to be infringed by allowing development to continue when lands have legal implications, adding the logging company does have harvesting plans that cover most of the 18 plots of lands.
He says the other three logging companies that were warned early this year will be given the same penalties this week.
By GEORGE ATKIN
in Kirakira
