By Pascal Onega
BULIISA: Charcoal vendors in Biiso market in Biiso town council, Buliisa district have decried what they call increased harassment by the National Forestry Authority – NFA that they say is making it hard to deal in the business.
The vendors who include Irene Acen say the business has turned into a hide and run affair as they consistently have to evade the NFA officials wanting to arrest them and confiscate the charcoal from them yet they are selling charcoal they get from trees on their own land not from the forest reserves as the agency claims.
The vendors also are wondering why the NFA officials fail to arrest and confiscate charcoal inside the forest reserve and instead choose to go to the market.
The vendors say because of the increased harassment by the NFA, they are worried that they may not take their children back to school for the new school term due to the lack of money.
The vendors are therefore requesting for government intervention into the issue.
This website understands that NFA enforcement officers last Friday confiscated sacks of charcoal from most of the vendors in Biiso Market.
Peter Oketch, the chairperson Biiso town council condemns the manner in which the operation is being conducted by NFA calling for the cooperation between its officials and the local authorities so that the matter can be amicably handled instead of harassing the vendors.
Efforts to get a comment from NFA on the matter were futile as the Budongo forest reserve sector manager could not be reached at the time of publishing this story.
