More than two weeks after he was accused of disseminating falsehoods following the publication of export data that contradicted his statements regarding forestry exports, Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh remains silent on the charge.
Singh, in the recent mid-year report on the economy, said that for the first six months of the year the forestry sector recorded growth of 38.1%, “supported by the introduction of new incentives to harvesters and sustained demand from the construction sector and furniture manufacturing subsector.” This was not explained.
As a consequence, the growth target for the sector was revised upwards significantly from the budgeted 3.3% to 15% growth for
