Too many ‘square pegs in round holes’

Dec 04, 2008 Letters

Dear Editor,
The recent arbitration in the sugar industry is a real slap in the faces of all the sugar workers of this country; 6% increase is a serious blow to the working poor who struggle each day with the most difficult and stressful jobs in this nation.

GuySuCo has already received over $4 billion in loans from the government and continues to mismanage and mishandle the workers’ interests and indeed, the nation’s interests.

Every day that passes, our country loses money due to the strikes, slow-downs and the frustration of the workers in the sugar industry; with each passing day, Guyanese taxpayers are realising that the US$180 million (borrowed money to finance the Skeldon sugar complex) will come back to haunt our children who will have to pay back this huge debt for a “dead duck” instead of a “golden goose” investment.

The US$180 million could have been used to really re-habilitate the sugar industry while investing in new agricultural areas to create job opportunities.

The sugar workers and their families have to realise that the albatross around their necks which keeps them in perpetual financial bondage is the same government they voted for – the same government which has brought the horrendous 16%VAT, fails them in fiscal responsibility ($600 million to repair the Demerara Harbour Bridge; $700million on CARIFESTA; millions on helicopters which are inadequate; millions on travel and allowances by government officials) and the list can go on and on.

How come the President fired Mr. Ronald Alli from GPL as that company faced serious problems and he keeps that same person in place while the sugar industry falls apart and the workers cry out for help?

How come the Minister of Agriculture is contented with the arbitration results given under the chair of Manzoor Nadir, a person who doesn’t understand the plight of these workers?

How come the Berbice Ferry crossing is in shambles; the water and light situation is in shambles, especially in Berbice; nothing doing at Blackbush Polder which should be a breadbasket?

The answer to these questions all lead back to what President Cheddi Jagan always criticised in government, “square pegs in round holes”.

President Jagan is in heaven and in heaven one looks down to see what is indeed happening to one’s life-work and as he looks down at the mess this government has created in the sugar industry and in this country as a whole, I know that he is angry because the sugar industry was his roots and his political blood-line.

The workers in the sugar industry have got to open their eyes and understand that just as they stood up over the decades to injustice and exploitation, they have to pull the wool off of their eyes and see clearly that this government is not the government of Cheddi Jagan; things have changed and the principles of that great man’s life have been chucked aside and locked away in this government’s agenda to increase taxation and spending while borrowing so much to leave our children broke and destitute.

They only open the locked vault of President Cheddi’s political attributes during election time in order to fool the poor workers of the sugar industry into voting for them so that the vicious cycle of “square pegs in round holes” can be propagated.

There are many answers in solving the crisis in the sugar industry, but the need for change is apparent.
Some will say that we need to contract the industry and specialise in organic and white sugar; others might feel that we should abandon sugar and really diversify into other agricultural fields of endeavour.

The bottom line is, however, the fact that this government does not institute policies which will create jobs and expand the role of the private sector so any conjecture to fixing any part of our economy is useless as long as we keep electing this government.

The sugar workers have to realise that in reality it is their votes which keep this government in place, not only to weaken their own standard of living and belittle their children’s future, but to cripple the rest of our fragile economy with “square pegs in round holes”.
Cheddi (Joey) Jagan (Jr)