Blame the Government...GuySuCo cannot rely on excuses

Blame the Government…GuySuCo cannot rely on excuses

Aug 22, 2008 Features / Columnists

Sugar has long been one of the mainstays of the Guyana economy, ever since cotton stopped being king. Ever since then sugar provided this country with revenue that sparked development in every sector of the economy.

It was sugar that enabled that mad scramble to construct a hydro electric facility from Kumarau Falls way back in 1973, because Guyana had been able to secure the best possible price for sugar from the European Community.

But there is more to sugar than the money it earns for the economy. It employs the largest number of people and it pays the most money to the national treasury by way of income tax.

Recently, the European Union decided that Guyana’s preferential sugar price would no longer be tolerated and being an economic giant, the EU set about instituting cuts which hurt Guyana and which they, the Europeans decided could be offset with some financial donations.

The government recognized that the need to lower the cost of production was crucial at this time, so it approached the Chinese and secured their help in building what is undoubtedly the most modern sugar factory in the region. But while this was being done there were those who told all who would listen, that Guyana should get out of sugar.

These people were not Guyanese but they seemed to know what was best for Guyana, and before long they had a few of the critics in Guyana echoing their sentiments.

They pointed to the other countries in the Caribbean that did, without acknowledging that Guyanese labour actually kept those industries going.

The government recognized the importance of sugar to the economy and has done everything to keep the industry alive, but there are some things that simply cannot remain the way they are. The sugar corporation cannot keep adjusting production targets downward and expect to be supported by the government.

There are certain quotas that the country must fulfill and if it does not, then it could lose those quotas in the next year. This would have a serious effect on the national economy and the critics would blame the government.

They would not tell the people that under the tenure of the old administration headed by the PNC, sugar production was never as high as it is now. Guyana is producing sugar as much as 100,000 tonnes – more than was ever achieved under the PNC rule.

As a result of the capacity to produce sugar in large quantities, Guyana secured markets and actually qualified for the additional quotas when others failed to satisfy theirs.

Today, GuySuCo has been adjusting its production quotas downward and this is being done for no acceptable reason.

The strikes have not been as prolonged as those that the industry well remembers; nor has the weather been as unkind as it was during the floods of 2005 and to a lesser extent, 2006.

It was the very sugar company that started to complain that it was paying out a significant part of its earning in wages and salaries, and that with the increasing demand by the workers for more money, it was hard pressed to keep up with the demands of the workers.

The government says that it if increases its production and satisfies its markets then it surely could do much more than it is doing at this time.

President Jagdeo has been meeting with the GuySuCo officials and he has been telling them that now is not the time for excuses because excuses had never been good for production and development in any country.

The sugar company is also talking about closing some estates and while this may have an impact on the production costs the final outcome must be such that there is no decline in production. There must be a careful examination of the situation.

But there should be more to all this. The government knows that the workers must also be responsible people and if by their actions they threaten the industry then the government would not pander to their wishes. The current wildcat strikes do not help the situation.

In fact the situation can deteriorate so much so that some heavily subsidized estates may have to go. The workers will by their action help make that choice to close or not to close any estate.

These are crucial times and the government would never do anything that would attract the cries of the critics who are always keen to blame the government.

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