Trading in wildlife is ongoing as the investigation continues into irregularities at the Wildlife Division.
Finance Officer Claudette Wellington is now acting as the head following last week’s firing of Khalawan, after he was found culpable of permitting unauthorised exports.
Embroiled in the wildlife fiasco is Presidential Advisor Odinga Lumumba, whose company, Mc Neal Enterprises, facilitated the exportation of dolphins.
The dolphins were exported without the approval of the Wildlife Division’s Board of Directors.
Contacted by Kaieteur News yesterday, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Bud Mangal, did not reveal the scope of the investigation but said the involvement of Lumumba’s company in the export of dolphins would be part of the probe.
“I understand that documents are being looked at and whatever is found to be irregular will be in the report,” he said.
He stated that whether Lumumba had a license to export wildlife would also be examined and the findings presented to Cabinet.
In the meantime, Board members, particularly Secretary, Kellawan Lall, are assisting in the continued operation of the Wildlife Division. Dr. Mangal said that Lall has a more “hands on” approach to the operations.
The Board Chairman said the investigation would encompass mainly the “present circumstances” surrounding the irregularities, which recently surfaced at the Wildlife Division.
Dr. Mangal said that internal work is continuing and Lall will prepare a report on whatever comes out of the investigation. This report will then be sent to Cabinet.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon said the findings of the report would be made public after a Cabinet review.
Dr. Mangal acknowledged that there were problems in some aspects of the local wildlife trade, particularly monitoring and enforcement that have to be addressed.
“The Wildlife Authority does not have the manpower to do this right now. It has to rely on the police and Customs for assistance,” he said.
He stated that there have been reports of smuggling of wildlife out of Guyana; something he said was difficult to bring under control.
He noted that the Wildlife Division’s mandate was mainly to oversee the export trade.
He stated that the movement of the animals internally is not a focus for the division but this leads to problems such as the mortality rate of animals that are being moved from place to place without being monitored.
He pointed out that Guyana has porous borders and trans-border trafficking of animals also poses a problem.
Dr. Mangal said legislation for the regulation of the trade is being put together. It has been proposed that assistance will be sought from CITES for the drafting of the legislation.
CITES had suspended the local trade in 2002 because of Government’s intransigence in implementing the necessary legislation.
Dr. Mangal said that it takes time to put the pieces of legislation together and Guyana did not have the skilled personnel to do the job. He stated that the Wildlife Division needs to be beefed up for it to perform its functions efficiently and effectively.
At present, the Wildlife Division has one veterinarian, one scientific officer, three clerical staff and an accounts division. There is a need for more field staff to effectively monitor the trade, Dr. Mangal said.
He said that whatever deficiencies are highlighted in the investigation would be acted upon. The irregularities in the trade came to a fore last month when it was found that dolphins were being exported. In his defence, Khalawan said that Dr.Luncheon authorised approval for the exports.
Dr. Luncheon dismissed this charge, stating that he does not issue instructions to the Wildlife Division.
Khalawan has since indicated that he is going to sue Dr. Luncheon and the Wildlife Management Authority for wrongful termination of service. Khalawan is the third Head of the Wildlife Division to be removed from office in just over two years, for alleged irregularities.
The state of the wildlife trade prompted President Bharrat Jagdeo last week to issue a threat to close it down entirely.
The President said that there were operators in the trade who used “back channels” for their personal gain and if this persisted, he would shut it down.