In the wake of reports in the press on the logging activities of Indian company Vaitarna and Chinese company Bai Shan Lin, the local transparency body today called on the government to halt their operations.

Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) also called on the government to make available to the public the contracts sealed with the two companies.

The TIGI statement follows:

The Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI) has been following with keen interest the various news reports of the apparent exploitation of our precious forest resources through the indiscriminate logging and exportation of logs, especially by two overseas companies reportedly enjoying substantial concessions from the Government of Guyana. The photographs carried by two news outlets are graphic evidence of the extent to which certain unwelcome practices are undertaken at a time when every effort should be made to protect our forests.