A UK-based commercial forestry and timber firm operating in Africa is to conduct an investigation into its Uganda operations after claims from Oxfam that more than 20,000 people were forcibly removed from land taken over by the company.
The charity says the evictions took place between 2006 and 2010.
New Forests Company (NFC), which also has a pole treatment plant called the East Africa Pole Company, said its understanding of resettlements was that they were legal, voluntary and peaceful.
NFC said it was puzzled by the extent to which Oxfam’s anecdotal evidence was at odds with these findings.
“NFC also regrets Oxfam’s decision to publish this highly prejudicial report without having given NFC the opportunity to investigate its claims,” the company said.
The company maintained that it had an “impeccable track record”, creating more than 2,000 jobs in remote Ugandan communities.
NFC operates in Uganda, Mozambique and Tanzania and is engaged in planting rapidly-growing tree species, with the aim of producing timber for sawmills, panel mills and pole treatment plants.
It is regarded as the largest tree planter in Uganda.
