Since the year 2000, the MOF and FDA share the total amount of forest revenue that is collected. This new arrangement was established with Executive Order No. 4 (dated 22 June 2000), shown in Annex 8. The revenue collected by the FDA is used to cover the costs of FDA, while the revenue collected by the MOF is used to fund the activities of the central government. The total assessment and collection of forest revenue for the two years 1999 and 2000 is summarised in Table 17. This table clearly shows that the actual level of revenue collection is very poor, accounting for 30 percent of total assessed charges, while arrears in charge payments account for the remaining 70 percent.
Table 17 Assessment and actual collection of forest revenue in 1999 and 2000
Revenue source |
Forest revenue by year (in USD) |
|
1999 |
2000 |
|
Assessed revenue |
|
|
- Production charges (timber) |
5,677,572 |
13,922.909 |
- Land rental |
8,535,534 |
6,203,883 |
Total |
14,213,106 |
20,126,792 |
Actual collection |
|
|
- MOF |
1,700,080 |
6,600,000 |
- FDA |
1,399,959 |
1,249,568 |
Total |
3,100,039 |
7,849,568 |
Arrears |
11,113,067 |
12,277,224 |
Proportion of charges in arrear |
78% |
61% |
Note: the figure of USD 6.6 million collected by the FDA in 2000 excludes the USD 4.0 million credited in favour of logging companies for reconditioning major highways.
To demonstrate the recent deterioration in revenue collection and show how much the sector could possibly contribute to the Government, the revenue collection statistics from before the civil crisis are provided for comparison in Table 18.
Table 18 Contribution of forest revenue to government revenue in 1970 to 1978
Year |
Total government revenue |
Forest revenue |
Contribution of forest revenue to government revenue |
1970 |
65.5 |
0.6 |
0.9 |
1971 |
57.5 |
0.5 |
0.7 |
1972 |
78.1 |
0.8 |
1.0 |
1973 |
90.0 |
0.2 |
2.4 |
1974 |
108.6 |
2.6 |
2.4 |
1975 |
125.3 |
2,9 |
2.3 |
1976 |
149.8 |
6.1 |
4.1 |
1977 |
172.7 |
5.6 |
3.2 |
1978 |
190.6 |
7.9 |
4.1 |