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GuySuCo to sell lands to survive over next five years- CEO
Following on the heels of $9B allocated in 2016, Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Dr. Clive Thomas has identified selling GuySuCo’s land holdings as a valuable source of financing over the
Land behind Buxton, belonging to GuySuCo
coming years.
According to Thomas, notwithstanding that the corporation had asked for a sum of $12B and had received $9B, a review was ongoing to see how best the corporation could make use of its considerable land holdings.
“What we are trying to do is to use land sales as an important means of financing over the next four to five years,” he said. “We are looking at our land holdings to see what is possible. Then (we will) decide on how to structure the sales. We have a fair idea to get (sums). So that is a significant source of income.”
“We asked for $12B this year and we got $9B. The rest has to be supplied by land sales. We are also trying to get the (private cane) farmers to diversify into other industries, if they want to. (Also) we have processing plants in Wales so we want to
Chairman of GuySuCo, Dr. Clive Thomas
do some (more) juice canning.”
Dr. Thomas stated that offers have already been coming in for the corporation to consider. He spoke about land along Mandela Avenue, which the corporation had realized was being disposed of by the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC). He stated that this was attributed to a misconception that the land belonged to the M&CC.
During the 2016 budget reading, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan had referenced some of the industry’s problems, which included low sugar prices, aged machinery and high production costs. $9B had been allocated for GuySuCo’s recovery and modernization programme.
This is not something new, however, as the industry has been the recipient of massive allocations for years despite declining revenue production. In 2015, GuySuCo received over $3B in budgetary allocations. In 2014 it was $6B.
Last year, it was also paid US$20M for the US$30M sale of its Skeldon co-generation facility to the Guyana Power and Light. Kaieteur News understands that that money did not stay liquid for long, being used to pay wages and salaries, the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and contractors.
Observers have warned over the years that the investments into GuySuCo are not sustainable, in particular when one considers that several multimillion dollar initiatives, including the $200M Skeldon sugar factory, have actually been detrimental to the corporation.
Back in 2010, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) had sold over 100 acres of land to National Hardware for $510M (US$2.5M). This worked out to $4.9M per acre. National Hardware then sold the lands at $80M per acre.
Past experience will show the need for being circumspect with the sale of GuySuCo’s land to private individuals, as documents show that Eddie Boyer, the owner of National Hardware, paid less than other buyers of land in Liliendaal.
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Gotta love this brilliant land sale strategy to survive before sinking for good. See, if GuySuCo has to sell lands to survive, but the same lands have been the primary resource of its existence, then with no lands to own over time, GuySuCo will eventually fold. GuySuCo: a functional failure and financial flop! Thanks to politics!
Dr. Thomas shouldn’t sell valuable land, but instead should try to privatize the sugar industry. I saw the great differences in India on my last visit there. It’s highly successful in the private sector and highly competitive in the international market. The government of India has a 10% stake in the industry just to make sure that sugar is for the people and not for the rich and powerful. Guyana needs to move away from the traditional concept of politicizing everything. Go to the free market system and you will see the advantages. You should visit India or have some dialogue with the trade attache of the Indian embassy.
Gat to buy some acres..,,,,price please