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A few observations on GuySuCo’s reshuffle

Jul 16, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
I quote, for starters, the first two paragraphs of the article of July 10, 2010, under the banner “Major reshuffle at GuySuCo”, in Kaieteur News of July 10, 2010
“As the country’s sugar industry struggles to regain its footing following a hefty price cut from Europe and from low production, the corporation has, within the last six weeks, made sweeping management changes that saw the recall of some officials and the transfer of others.
According to an internal press release made available to Kaieteur News, GuySuCo’s top management explained that the changes are in keeping with its objectives to optimise the effectiveness of its operations”.
Craving your indulgence I reproduce the following excerpt under the banner, “Two directors to replace all general managers at GuySuCo.” from your publication of January 4, 2009.
“As the restructuring continues at the Guyana Sugar Corporation, a decision has been taken to remove the company’s head office from Ogle, East Coast Demerara to Albion, Corentyne, Berbice.
“Kaieteur News was told this move will reportedly save the company in excess of $100M per year.
“In the old management structure, there were general managers at each estate. However, in this new arrangement, there will be two directors manning all the estates.
“In Demerara, the director will be Rishi Sookram, who was formerly in charge of procurement at the head office.
Jai Petam will be in charge of the Berbice estates.
“This newspaper was told that those persons who were formerly managers at the various estates have since been offered alternative positions.
“The shake-up will also see finance and industrial matters being referred to the head office rather than to intermediary personnel”.
It is true that one of the recognised defects of GuySuCo is the diminution, if not total absence, of critical institutional memory. But surely such a factor can hardly be attributed to the high level decision-making which took place between January 2009 and May/June 2010. At the very least the record-keeping should have been carefully checked if only as a means of reflecting seriously on the impact on, and implications for, some of those affected by the purported re-shuffle.
Outstanding is the dissolution of the position of Regional Director, one which was first established at least 20 years ago. Last year’s appointments and their almost instant recall must give pause for reflection on the existing capacity to undertake a principled approach to organisational relationships and reporting structures.
The affected appointees (and others) must be at least bemused by another perceived ‘turn around’, more particularly when one Regional Director is re-instated to the legitimate position of Human Resources Director; while the counterpart has been ‘demoted’ (in a most inconsistent manner) to a Departmental Head of a Unit whose malfunctioning recently made news that indicated its critical value to the Corporation.
Rather therefore than reverting a Director to a position of Manager, consideration could well have been given to reinforcing the level of accountability related to the Materials Management Unit by heading it with a Director, with reporting responsibility to the very Management Committee of which he is already a member.
What, importantly, would have been achieved is a restoration of the officer’s self-esteem, the consequential upgrade of necessary morale, and even performance, amongst members of the Unit; and the appropriate empowerment of authority over its operations. Hopefully the situation is still retrievable.
To return however to January 2009, one sensible development appears to emerge from the latest reshuffle, that is the apparent reinstitution of Estate Managers (former General Managers); and with it the disaggregation of Rose Hall Estate from the administration of Albion and Port Mourant Estate; along with the re-establishment of Wales and Uitvlugt Estates as separate administrative entities.
As the British used to say: ’we muddle through’.
E. B. John

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