The 20th Edition of the Black Monday Movement Newsletter

Published By UNNGOF |  August 21, 2014

Authored by Sarah Pacutho | On: Thu, 08/21/2014 – 10:42

We are pleased to share with you the 20th Edition of the Black Monday Movement Newsletter.

In this edition, we highlight how the forestry sector has been highly affected by corruption through the use of power and politics.

The newsletter provides an expose of corruption in the sector that has manifested itself in form of plunder, illegal logging, tax evasions, under declaration of forest products, illegal timber trade, lack of transparency in the chain of custody for timber products, abuse and mismanagement of resources, uncontrolled encroachment , breakdown in the licensing system, system failure in form of lack of supervision and monitoring by Forestry Sector Support Department, poor coordination and mandate overlaps by the state agencies, and revenue leakages accruing from the sector.

You will find case studies of major forest reserves that have been illegally encroached on and the power and politics at play both at national and sub-national levels. You will be able to find out how communities are working within their means to protect the forestry sector amidst the poor response from forestry officials.

The pictorial section depicts the story behind Uganda’s forest cover and the manner in which it has been depleted. We recognize that while the country has powerful policies governing the sector, much more has to be done to ensure enforcement. You will also find some of the efforts that communities and civic agencies have employed innovatively through the use of ICT to monitor and curb corruption in the sector.

Please enjoy reading and share widely. To download, click here

A press conference was held on Monday, 18th August, 2014 at PANOS Eastern Africa offices to amplify the message and express our discontent of the high levels of forestry encroachment. A story filed by Monitor Newspaper can be found by clicking here

A huge applause goes to the Forest Project team coordinated by Anti-corruption Coalition Uganda and Care International Uganda for their contribution in coordinating and producing this newsletter.

We believe that with a united citizenry against the corruption in the forestry sector we can save country’s forestry and other natural resources. Together we can end corruption in our country.