GuySuCo details US$12.5M expenditure on packaging plant

May 25, 2011 News

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– invites KN, Chris Ram to conduct audit

A Kaieteur News report which questioned the cost of the recently-commissioned US$12.5M sugar packaging plant at Enmore has come under attack from the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the government.
Both the Ministry of Agriculture and GuySuCo issued separate statements, with Minister Robert Persaud inviting Kaieteur News and newspaper columnist, Christopher Ram, to conduct a forensic audit on GuySuCo and the packaging plant…but at their expense.
Yesterday, GuySuCo described the article as “irresponsible” and of showing partisan journalism by Kaieteur News.
Ram, a columnist and letter writer, in a piece published on May 18, questioned the cost of Project Gold, which GuySuCo says includes a warehouse facility, packaging machines and upgrades to the aging Enmore factory.
He pointed to an 11-machine plant installed by Mumias Sugar Company, Kenya, and noted that it was built at a cost of US$3M with equipment sourced from India.
GuySuCo responded that US$8M was spent on the factory upgrades while the rest was on the warehouse and packaging equipment.
While that plant in Kenya had a reported capacity of producing over 200,000 tonnes of packaged sugar annually, the Enmore one is estimated at 40,000 tonnes.
Responding to the article, GuySuCo in a strongly-worded statement said that it had ignored Ram’s “baseless and malicious story” which is viewed as part of an ongoing campaign to discredit the efforts to turnaround the sugar industry.
GuySuCo explained that Project Gold was conceptualised as part of the sugar action plan that won support and funding from the European Union. The project was fully funded with resources from the European Union.
“This project was advertised internationally and locally through an open and competitive bidding process which saw Surendra Engineering Corporation of India emerging as the lowest and most competitive bidder.”
The project has many components, including the packaging plant. These included the Enmore sugar factory process design – US$72,000; civil works design – US$90,000; civil works construction – US$3.4M and the design, supply and installation of a sugar warehouse – US$3M.
It also included the design, supply and installation of sugar packaging machinery – US$2M and the design, supply and installation of sugar processing equipment – US$4.1M.
GuySuCo pointed out that sugar processing equipment and civil works construction alone cost US$7.5M and this was relating to the process house factory upgrades.
“It must be noted, that in excess of US $7.5 million relates to the substantial modification and upgrade of the Enmore factory, which is separate to (sic) the packaging plant component and the warehouse.”

The Corporation also noted that the packaging machines were supplied by Gainsborough Engineering Company of the United Kingdom while the bailing machines were sourced from Raumak of Brazil, and not India as was “falsely claimed” by Ram.
“The project referred to in Kenya only relates to a packaging facility which in fact is one component of the entire Enmore Project Gold. It is dishonest of Kaieteur News/Christopher Ram to pick out one component and present it as the entire project.
“Further, the web site referred to as providing information on the Kenyan project does not provide enough information for any comparative analysis.”
GuySuCo claimed that “all this information is in the public domain and was also provided to the media at the commissioning ceremony through detailed presentations and then a detailed overview of the project and the statement from the construction company were circulated to the media houses via email, including Kaieteur News”.
“Yet this newspaper and its supposed intellectual author Christopher Ram omitted to mention this in their first report and now in today’s (yesterday) report.”
GuySuCo said that it is again of the view that there is some mischief afoot, since the Chief Executive Officer, Paul Bhim, spoke to a reporter and the publisher of Kaieteur News on Monday, during which he supplied all the details of the project – none of which were reported.
Yesterday, also, Minister Persaud announced that he is prepared to allow Kaieteur News and Ram to conduct a forensic audit on GuySuCo and the packaging plant project- at their expense.
“GuySuCo and the Ministry are willing to accommodate it.”
He also linked the article to a larger scheme, during this election period to discredit GuySuCo.
PNCR’s Presidential Candidate, Brigadier David Granger, recently said he is more inclined to privatise sugar.
The plant was commissioned earlier this month with GuySuCo saying that it will receive increased prices by 40 per cent for packaged sugar.

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