APNU-AFC Government spent $70 Million just for a report on Guysuco

Nov 03, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
I read on your issue of November 1/2015 , the chairman of Guysuco stated that there was political interference at Guysuco by the previous government, that keep the production low to the extent that an option considered was to close the industry.

I do not to believe this. The last government desperately wanted to save and improve the industry, because over 16,000 workers, largely the PPP supporters, would have been out of a job. Minister Robert Persuad, destroyed by Jagdeo and State Planning, spoke with me at length on the issues of the Guysuco and my solicited my opinion to improve the productivity on the sugar estates.

He was aware that as an Engineer, I designed processing plants (Tyre and Steel) and I proved my management capability as the Director of PEIP. I have sent an email June 9/2015, to some Ministers of the Coalition Government that the issue is management and not political interference, when the IMC was formed.

I also sent on June 3/2015, a 3 page document, in bullet form, titled “Guysuco Options” to some Ministers, that we need to have a professional analysis with breakeven analysis in options – short term; long term; closing down. This with some elaboration would have formed a Terms of Reference for retaining an expert firm, maybe from India, to identify all the issues, solutions and implementation. In this document, I said that I am sure under good management, the losses can be minimized. If the PPP government was extracting money from the system and then claimed that the industry was operating at a loss, then subsidize it, should be examined.

If indeed the industry has recently improved its production, it is PPP propaganda that caused this improvement, by telling the people that this Coalition is going to close the Guysuco and you are going to be out of employment, so the workers from management to labourers started to now work, so that they can feed their families. Was the COI necessary at a cost of $70M and more, to produce a report which will now serve as a Terms of Reference for retaining an expert firm/individuals to review/refine, qualified and quantified solutions and the implementations?
Joe Persaud