Brighter days ahead for sugar industry

Aug 15, 2011 News

-Persaud tells sugar workers

Guyana’s foundation was built through the hard work, the sweat and tears and blood of sugar workers. Those were the sentiments expressed by Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud at a recent Honours Roll function of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) at Blairmont, West Bank Berbice. “All of us here were brought to this land because of sugar”, he said. He lambasted those who he said want to “underestimate and write- off sugar”, while he assured the nation that “sugar has and will continue to run through the veins of every single Guyanese…it is part of our life; part of our existence”, he noted.
He urged sugar workers to be on their guard since there are sentiments being expressed that government is injecting all of the resources in the sugar industry while neglecting the bauxite industry.
“They were saying that we are taking all the resources and only putting it in the sugar industry. Recently on television there was a rally in New Amsterdam by one of the parties that was formed and last night (Saturday) there was a public meeting by another one” and the message was ‘that the government was not putting anything into sugar”. “There will be those coming around and creating mischief”, Persaud posited.
He addressed “lies” spread by persons that the government will allow the sugar industry to decline. “If you look at the resources, more than $40B in the past eight years have been plugged into the industry by the government”, he noted.
Persaud said, too, that another “lie being peddled” is that workers’ benefits will be taken away, and that the government “gave up EU (European Union) money because the government did not submit a business plan”. Minister said that a plan was submitted but the EU did not accept the plan but that they “created the impression that the government is uncaring and is managing and approaching the issue of sugar in a very callous manner, which again is another lie spreading in the industry”.
The Agriculture Minister also debunked claims by some sections of society and political forces that the government “is taking away sugar lands and giving it out to people for next to nothing or giving it to government friends and colleagues”. He alluded to the Turn-around Plan of GuySuCo which “sees GuySuCo raising the capital by the disposal of land in a very transparent and competitive manner, that, too is another lie they will be spreading.
” He urged sugar workers not to be misled and outlined government’s commitment to the sugar industry “which cannot be questioned”.
Sugar, he said, will continue to get the type of attention and support because of the leadership of the company in “Guyana’s next president, Donald Ramotar”. “The sugar industry can look forward to a greater level of commitment and brighter days ahead”, he said.

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Brighter days ahead for sugar industry

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