Uitvlugt estate out of operation for four days

Sep 05, 2009 News

– significant production lost

The Uitvlugt Sugar Estate on the West Coast of Demerara suffered a huge production loss with the factory being out of operation for more than four days as a result of negligence, but it is unclear who will feel the squeeze.

Punts of sugar cane left lying over the past four days due to the non-operation of the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate.

The loss in sugar production at this estate is yet another setback at the Demerara estates which have been plagued by a series of strikes.
Kaieteur News understands that the No.5 Boiler at the estate was not serviced with enough water Sunday, and as a result, significant damaged was caused, bringing operations at the factory to a halt.
Regional Director for the Demerara Estates, Rishi Sukram, when contacted, said the factory was back in operation as of midday yesterday. He would not comment further, except to say that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) would issue a statement today.
As a result, it is unclear who would take responsibility for the boiler being “starved of water” as President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, put it. Chand said that as a result of the non-operation of the factory, cane-cutters could not get work.
With the factory unable to operate, scores of punts stacked with sugar cane were left lying over the past four days. Chand said this means that sucrose (sugar) content in the canes would be reduced significantly, and hence the factory will suffer a loss in production.
This is the latest setback to face the sugar industry this second crop, which industry players were hoping would be a bumper crop. The Corporation had set a production target of 160,000 tonnes over a 20-week period of grinding which commenced at the end of July.
At the end of week five, production stood at 10,000 tonnes. This week’s production has not yet been released.
The industry is fighting to keep itself afloat. GuySuCo started this year with a $3 billion debt.
The Corporation, which manages operations across the country’s sugar estates, last year recorded a $4 billion loss, owing to its worst production figures in 18 years – 226,000 tonnes.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has called for production levels to go back past 300,000 tonnes this year. At the commissioning of the Skeldon factory three weeks ago, the President underscored the role of workers and managers in making a success of the sugar industry in the face of difficult challenges.”

Workers have a right to fair compensation but they have to understand that they have a critical role to play in the industry.” In addition, Jagdeo said he expects accountability on the part of estate managers and said there should be a fair system of compensation for good performance and penalties for bad performance.