Latest update September 15th, 2026 10:20 AM
Guysuco may owe more that than the US$170M
…owes Canefield/Enterprise NDC more than $27M – Councillor
The figures are already high, but it could still be higher. This is the tale of the beleaguered Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). It was recently revealed that the sugar company owes over US$170M. But that might not be the whole story.
It was also recently learnt that the ailing sugar corporation owes millions of dollars to the various Neighbourhood Democratic Councils around the country.
GuySuCo owes banks – both local and foreign suppliers, the Guyana Revenue Authority, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund Committee (SILWFC) some $58B. It also owes the Guyana Government another US$112M for the New Skeldon Sugar Factory, money loaned by the World Bank, China EXIM Bank and Caribbean Development Bank.
The Canefield/Enterprise Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) alone is owed over $27M. It was revealed that GuySuCo has not paid taxes owed to the NDC for the past three years. The amount owed for 2014 alone is $10 million. Some $17 million is owed in back taxes.
This $27M owed has resulted in the entity not being able to fully execute its work programme and has a negative impact on the residents of that community. This is according to one councillor who was installed by Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker when he installed Interim Management Committees. The Council’s performance can be classified as dismal because GuySuCo is responsible for 75 per cent of the taxes the NDC collects.
According to the councillor there isn’t much that the NDC could do. It cannot take GuySuCo to court, because they are two peas in the same pod. However, letters have been sent to the President of Guyana and to the Ministers of Local Government and Agriculture and to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Corporation, among others.
To date there has been no response to the letters. It is like throwing water on duck’s back, the councillor said. “Meetings don’t make sense anymore, since Minister of Local Government Whittaker destroyed the Council and imposed his IMC”.
Guysuco is in a deep trouble with no immediate end in sight. GuySuCo has admitted that there are no plans in place for the turnaround plan to work. The subject Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, recently said, “Government is seriously considering other alternatives, including going the route of producing ethanol.”
But Dr. Ramsammy’s comments seemed to echo those made by Anthony Vieira, a former sugar producer, in a letter published in the Kaieteur News, recently, the councillor said.
The Skeldon expansion project is the most expensive project to date in Guyana, costing over US$200M.
Shortly before he left office in 2011, former President Bharrat Jagdeo said he would have personally made it his duty to ensure the problematic Skeldon factory is fixed.
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