KahnKaye Chiefdom, River Cess County – Esther Beegbon, 58, has just completed a three-hour walk to Don Town from Bannie Town, where she and other residents of Kahnkaye Chiefdom in Nyorwein District selected new chiefs to lead a rejection of Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO) from expanding its plantation on their land. The replaced chiefs are accused of accepting bribe from EPO and collaborating with the company against the wishes of the community. Confusion broke out at a meeting between consented towns in Kayah and EPO in October 2017, causing officials of the company to flee. Later that month, the consented Kayah towns lodged a complaint to then Superintendent of River Cess Matthew Z. Daniels. We can’t force anybody.”This story was produced by James Harding Giahyue in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) as part of a project to promote community land right and sustainable forest management.

Source: Front Page Africa May 15, 2018 04:18 UTC