The Minister of Agriculture was given a salary increase because he is supposed to be smart

Nov 16, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
The much anticipated report from the Commission of inquiry (COI) into the operations of GUYSUCO has been submitted to Ministry of Agriculture for delivery to Government of Guyana. This was made known to the Guyanese public through various media outfits more than two (2) weeks ago. It is understandable that Government needs to review the report since it is a product of a multi-million dollar exercise paid for, by taxpayers however, these findings should be released without much hesitation or it will foster anxiety within the society.
The average Guyanese citizen understands the importance of sugar in the country’s economy. The expectation therefore, from this inquiry is not a re-statement of known facts but provision of strategies on “how” to revive and remodel the industry into a “New GuySuCo” to overcome present and future challenges.
Delaying the release of this report will not help the process of a new GuySuCo. With each passing day, Governments’ “pregnancy” with this report is becoming worrying without a delivery date.
The Honourble Prime Minister has been very vocal on GuySuCo and seems to have sugar among other sectors under his belt. It is therefore logical to identify him as the bearer of this pregnancy and therefore sugar workers are now agitating that labour be induced to end this pregnancy.
Government should have no reason to be guarded and cautious about the contents of the report since a key member on the inquiry panel, Professor Clive Thomas is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of GuySuCo. This means Professor Thomas, being a COI member was part and parcel of the recommendations emanating from the inquiry and will be tasked with execution of those recommendations as Chairman of GuySuCo.
Recent history also tells us that Professor Thomas along with at least two (2) Board members (Mr. Anthony Vieira & Mr. Earl John) have been analyzing GuySuCo continuously and have produced numerous missives in the print and electronic media on the industry’s performance and reasons for it. These learned gentlemen are now in very influential positions in the Corporation and have ample opportunity to practice what they preached not so long ago while not in Government circles. Any deviation from what they preached will justify how flawed their analyses were and will require an apology to the nation. It will be the morally correct thing to do.
Delay of the COI report has now precipitated a spat between GAWU and GuySuCo. It is simply because the Corporation is awaiting advice on a way forward from Government (via COI report) while GAWU cited a breach of Trade Union Recognition Act for refusing to meet at the bargaining table.
The outcome of this spat was three days of industrial action that dented sugar production by some 56% in conditions conducive for optimum production. GAWU seem to be pressing for increased wages for its members in light of recent wage increases awarded to public servants including Ministers of Government.
GuySuCo on the other hand is contending that the strike was uncalled for. In the circumstances, GuySuCo’s position can be construed to mean that Government’s priority for sugar is low, Government will tolerate breach of Trades Union Act, Government will trample on workers’ rights and sugar workers do not deserve better wages.
If Government has an interest in sugar, and “will not abandon it in troubled times” to use the words of the Honourable Prime Minister, it must intervene now by requesting GuySuCo to engage the union in negotiations. The Honourable Minister of Agriculture should stop making wild statements and politicizing recent actions by workers.
Instead, he should be advising the Government on the importance of presenting the COI report without hesitation. At least, he was given an increase in salary recently for being a “smart” Minister. Anymore delays simply mean that Government is boldly facilitating industrial unrest, reduced production performance and further financial crisis by deliberately withholding a report and breaching the Trade Union Recognition Act. Therefore, Government must accept the reward of its own actions or inactions.
Frederick Yuvraj

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The Minister of Agriculture was given a salary increase because he is supposed to be smart

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