GuySuCo CEO sent packing

Jan 15, 2009 News

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By Tusika Martin

Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Nick Jackson, and will be  sent packing all the way to Southern Africa as he will be replaced on Valentine’s Day.
This move is part of the restructuring that is presently taking place at the sugar company in a move to review and increase production in 2009.
Jackson will be taking up a position as Managing Director of the Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation, Swaziland, Southern Africa.
During a press conference hosted by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon and Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, it was revealed that the present CEO will be replaced by Errol Hanoman, who is currently Booker-Tate’s Director for the Caribbean and Latin America.
The shake-up comes at a time when reports and an internal audit of the company point to instances of corruption and wrongdoing at different levels, the Agriculture Minister said yesterday.
“Workers themselves give you the horror tales about what they perceived or what really takes place at different levels within the company and I am quite sure that any board or any entity would want to ensure that it has a grip on issues such as wastage or corruption,” he said.
Persaud told the media that the current restructuring is about shaping the organisation into the most effective composition to enable management and employees to deliver the best possible results for the corporation in the future.
The structure of GuySuCo, he noted, has evolved over many years, often with relatively minor adjustments being made in response to changing circumstances.
This structure has developed over time to its current position but, with technological changes, financial and market pressures, all coming to bear on the Corporation, he added. It is now an appropriate time to make changes to the organization’s structure, Persaud said.
The changes have started from the senior management level, he noted, in order to prepare the Corporation for the challenges ahead.
The key feature of the reshuffle is the grouping of the eight estates into two regions: Demerara and Berbice.
The Demerara Region comprises of Enmore, LBI, Uitvlugt and Wales, while the Berbice region includes Albion, Blairmont and Rose Hall.
Each region is headed by a Regional Director (RD) who, Persaud said, will be reporting to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO), with the Estate Manager reporting directly to the RDs.
In Demerara, the Director will be Rishi Sookram, who was formerly in charge of procurement at the Head Office.
Jai Pittam, who was the Human Resources Director at the company, will be in charge of the Berbice estates.
The Agriculture and Factory managers, the Minister said, will report to the Estate manager, whilst the Finance and Human Resources Managers report to their respective Head Office functions.
Skeldon will continue to operate independently, reporting to the Deputy Chief Executive Officer.
As the restructuring continues, even Booker-Tate Limited will feel the squeeze of the new move as its role has been reduced.
Addressing the future of Booker-Tate’s role at the corporation, Persaud said that there has been an agreement reached with that company to replace the Corporate Management Agreement with a Technical Support Services Agreement.
This, he added, will involve required programmed visits by specialists as well as the provision of specific technical personnel to be based in Guyana as required.
The visits by the technical specialists will cover all aspects of the business, including finance, human resources, factory and agriculture, and will give specific recommendations for improvement, Persaud said.
“Booker Tate will also provide, on an ongoing basis, the required key skills that are difficult to attract directly by GuySuCo.”
The current management arrangement with Booker-Tate will end on March 31, 2009.
Persaud added that President Bharrat Jagdeo and the Cabinet had approved an Interim Management Board, which is mandated to develop and present to the shareholder, within one-month, a ‘Blueprint for success.’
This will have a detailed set of strategies for the next two to three years and will also have a design for the turnaround of the industry.
“This process will require interactions with the new management and stakeholders, including the unions. Specialized skills will be sourced to carry out this effort.”
These strategies will be included into the current update of the business plan that the new board will review.
Activities related to the development of the ‘Blueprint for Success,’ he added, include reviewing cost-saving initiatives.
These proposals include reduction of cost per hectare, improved cane production performance, the progress of the Chinese contractor on completing the tests on the new Skeldon sugar factory, tackling wastage and corruption, relocation of the head office to Albion, effective implementation of the management reorganization, mechanization of operations, and increased production and sale of packaged sugar.
Members of the Interim Management Board are Dr. Nanda Kishore Gopaul, who will serve as Chairman; CEO of Clico, Geeta Singh-Knights; Keith Burrowes; Dr. Rajendra Singh; General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Donald Ramotar; Jangbahadur Raghurai, and Errol Hanoman, who will act as an ex-officio member.
Since 2004, the sugar industry has seen a steady decline in production, with last year recording production of 226,227 tons.
A number of factors have been attributed as the cause for this situation during the past four years.

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