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Budget 2014…$6B allocation for GuySuCo is not for bailout – Agri. Minister
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has said that the $6B budgetary allocation for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is not intended to bail out the ailing industry.
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Shadow Minister of Finance, Carl Greenidge, had said that he will not be supporting the $6B allocated for GuySuCo. This is an area that will be amended, he said.
Agriculture Minister,
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
“If they were that supportive of the industry then they would have ensured that the issues affecting the company would have been dealt with instead of coming for subsidies to bail it out,” Greenidge said.
In a press statement last evening, the Minister rejected this notion. GuySuCo is too important to the local economy and to the lives of thousands, he said.
“The welfare and livelihood of more than 18,000 employees and about 120,000 people generally is at stake.”
Dr. Ramsammy noted that the government does not intend to act recklessly and not ensure that the corporation is able to overcome the difficulties that it has been facing for quite some time now.
“The PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/ Civic) Government will stand firm with the sugar workers, the union and the corporation in ensuring that sugar continues to play a positive role in our development,” the Minister said.
He added, “It is unfortunate that APNU has decided on this course of action and it demonstrates that they pre-planned to cut the budget in key areas.”
Dr. Ramsammy is of the view that GuySuCo is being targeted. “I believe that this action is another in a series of actions and expressed intentions that are in keeping with the long history of being anti-sugar.”
The Agriculture Minister in his missive said, “We will resist such efforts and we will never allow the closure of sugar in Guyana.”
Dr. Ramsammy said that any responsible government or political party would need to provide critical support that the Sugar Corporation requires at this time…”not only for the sake of GuySuCo, but also for the sake of the overall economy.”
According to the Minister, GuySuCo contributes almost 20 per cent of the economies of Regions, Three, Four, Five and Six. He said, too, that in the past, GUYSUCO alone contributed almost 15 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Guyana.
“We must also take into consideration that on a weekly basis, GuySuCo’s payroll amounts to about $500M and almost $25B per year. With this inflow into the economy, it would be foolish and downright irresponsible for anyone to seek to leave GUYSUCO without any support.”
Dr. Ramsammy said that GuySuCo spends about $15B per year on drainage and irrigation, which not only supports the cultivation of sugar cane, but rice as well.
“Similarly, cash crop farmers in Regions Three, Four, Five, and Six depend on the drainage and irrigation of GuySuCo.”
Dr. Ramsammy said that the industry is “responsible for significant injections of financial support to provide health care for workers and people in the communities and for the upkeep of community centers” in the aforementioned regions.
The Agriculture Minister also rejected another statement by Greenidge, that GuySuCo has never provided energy to the national grid.
“GuySuCo’s co-generation has been supplying about 8.5MW of baggasse-based energy to the national grid, from Line Path to Mahaica during the grinding season. This is in direct contrast to the totally fabricated statement from Mr. Greenidge,” Dr. Ramsammy posited.
He said that persons should recall the days when GuySuCo almost single-handedly carried forth the economy of Guyana.
“The neglect of the industry by the then PNC (People’s National Congress) Government led to an almost total collapse of the sugar industry by 1990. It is the PPP/C Government that restored the viability of the sugar industry. The industry exceeded 250,000 tons at least 15 times since 1992.”
However, to this date, under the same government, the sugar industry is spiraling downwards, and is now in the worse state that it has ever been, with GuySuCo struggling to meet it continuously revised targets.
Dr. Ramsammy usually defends this situation, blaming inclement weather. However, he now insists, “GuySuCo, in a short while from now, will be able to recover its place as the undisputed giant within Guyana’s economy.”
The Minister said that GuySuCo is already approaching 40,000 tons of sugar for this crop, and that as long as the weather remains friendly, there should be no difficulties in meeting the set targets.
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