Snake crawls out of the grass unscratched for Fairtrade Company Limited

MANAGING Director of Fairtrade Company Limited responds to the headline in the Island Sun on Monday titled “snake in the grass” by Alfred Sasako.

He says firstly that Mr Sasako should seek legal advice and his facts straight before writing and that whoever his sources were needs to put his fingers in his pockets with his eyes wide shut. Fairtrade Company Limited is a locally incorporated company and fully owned by indigenous Solomon Islanders and carries out logging on customary land owned by the shareholders and their tribes. It does not need foreign companies to log its resources.

Secondly, Fairtrade Company Limited applied to acquire timber rights and had been issued with felling license by the Commissioner of Forest Resources. The right to acquire timber rights is vested on it or any other person in this country by the Forest Resource and Timber Utilisations Act (cap. 40) and not by virtue of the Forest Resources and Timber Utilisation (Timber Licensing and Tree Felling) Regulation 2007 or otherwise referred to Mr. Sasako as NL 114. The regulation is subservient to the Act but otherwise inconsistent with the Act and does not apply to Fairtrade Company Limited or any other indigenous owned companies that carries out logging on land owned by their directors and shareholders.

Solomon Forest Association is a Registered Charitable Trust Association under the Charitable Trust Act and those not wishing to be members are not bound by its constitution or charter. It is an event unconstitutional and does not purport to represent companies like Fairtrade Company Limited.

A locally owned company, Fairtrade Company limited only needs a standard logging agreement and a Felling License. As it carries out its own logging operations it does not need to enter into any TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENT with any foreign Malaysian companies or any other locally incorporated foreign companies or companies that are members of Solomon Forest Association.

Fairtrade Company Limited owns 10 excavators, 6 bulldozers, 3 logging trucks, 4 loaders, 8 dump trucks, 3 graders, 2 compactors, 1 dumb barge and 1 tow boat, 2 landing crafts, 3 passenger boats. It does not lease or borrow from any companies. These are machineries used for all logging and related purposes and 100% owned by Fairtrade Company Limited.

Fairtrade Company Limited strongly warns any person and anybody whether natural, incorporated or government agency that interferes with its business that it will sue them for any consequential losses suffered by it as a result of such factually untrue report from Mr. Sasako and his sources and actions taken that is legally incorrect and invalid.

Finally, Fairtrade Company Limited challenges Solomon Forest Association that if it carries out illegal logging to take him to court instead of using its political influence to martial its way to undermining its legitimate commercial undertaking.

Chachabule Amoi

Shareholder/Director

Managing Director

Landowner and chief of Tobakokorapa and Land

Intending Candidate for Marovo Constituency

Solomon Islander

Discover more from Theislandsun

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading