Latest update January 17th, 2025 6:30 AM
Combined opposition playing football with sugar – says Rohee
General Secretary (GS) of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee, has accused the combined opposition of being hypocritical and double-sided where GuySuCo (Guyana Sugar Corporation) is concerned.
GS of the PPP
Clement Rohee
Clement Rohee during his weekly press briefing yesterday announced that the combined Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC), has always publicly proclaimed their interest to curtail sugar. The main objective he posits, is to weaken the PPP’s support base.
According to Rohee, the combined opposition has now “backpedalled” from that position of wanting to shut down GuySuco and cripple sugar but it is his contention, however that APNU and the AFC, are still intent on shutting down GuySuco.
Rohee said, “Just as the PPP/C Government supported the bauxite industry and believes that Guyana has a future in bauxite, in the same way PPP is of the view that there is a future for sugar in Guyana and more importantly it still has much to contribute.”
He quoted Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh. “The industry is still of sufficient systemic importance to the national economy and to the livelihoods of so many rural communities and has such deep forward and backward linkages with suppliers and distributors nationwide that no effort must be spared to ensure its long term viability, competitiveness and profitability.”
Rohee said that his party is aware that there are challenges “which the sugar industry faces, challenges both internally and externally; nevertheless the Party is confident that the initiatives which have been embarked upon, will over the next few years return GuySuCo to a sound financial position.”
According to Rohee, it is in this regard that “the PPP welcomes the allocation of $6 billion announced by the Finance Minister in Budget 2014 for the mechanization of the sugar industry.
“The Skeldon factory, the Enmore Packaging Plant and investments in mechanization are all initiatives which the PPP/C Government has implemented to ensure that we protect an industry which will continue to be important to the socio- economic development of our country.”
General Secretary Rohee said that they “know that the opposition is fond of playing political football with sugar and is hell bent on withholding its support for financial assistance to the industry in the 2014 budget.
“Let them be warned that they are playing politics with the lives of tens of thousands of honest, hardworking Guyanese.”
APNU had previously said it would be wise to move in a most systematic way from relying on cane production and make moves towards ethanol production and aqua farming since sugar was suffering and the government subsidies to bailout GuySuCo were increasing with no turn around for the industry in sight.
This position was shared by the AFC. Both parties have expressed interest in curtailing in the 2014 Budget, significant amount of public funds being pumped into GuySuCo.
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