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KING SUGAR IS DEAD; TIME TO MOVE ON.
The management of the sugar industry seems to be in a bubble. Carping on concepts such as a new GUYSUCO or one GUYSUCO or putting GUYSUCO first will not change anything. King Sugar is dead in Guyana and it is time to move on. Selling some of GUYSUCO’s land and subsiding it with close to $12 billion a year is a short-term solution and a waste of valuable state resources.
The low price for sugar on the world market cannot sustain the industry. The government knew this, but it is more concerned about the political consequences should it close more sugar factories. This can be avoided if the government finds alternative sources of employment for the workers by producing ethanol.
Not very long ago, sugar was considered the king of Guyana’s agriculture, with rice as its closest underling. Sugar was the primary foreign currency earner and the second largest employer of labour in the country after the government. It was the mainstay of several communities in and around the sugar estates.
King Sugar has not only contributed to the growth of the country, but also to the development of community sports, healthcare and other facilities. Many cricket, football and athletics teams and players have developed around the sugar estates.
Prior to independence, all fourteen sugar estates in the country were in operation—Skeldon, Port Mourant, Rose Hall, Albion, Canje, Blairmont, Versailles, La Bonne Intention (LBI), Enmore, Houston, Diamond, Leonora, Wales and Uitvlugt. The nationalization of the sugar industry in the 1970s by the late Forbes Burnham government coupled with less demand and lower prices for sugar on the world market haveled to the closureof five sugar factories—Port Mourant, Canje, Versailles, Houston and Leonora.Low production and high costs forced the closure of LBI and Diamond. Wales is expected to close soon.
King Sugar was responsible for the Atlantic Slave Trade which brought Africans, Europeans and Oriental peoples to the region. It made some people paupers and others millionaires. Many would like to see King Sugar return to its glorious days but it will not happen. During the mid-1960s, sugar was at its peak in Guyana. However, that plateau was short lived.
The price for sugar started to decline in the early 1970s and so was production in Guyana. Today, sugar production is half of what it was in the70s and 80s.
Today, the sugar industry is lying on its sickbed, like a feeble, old person with very little chance of recovery. All the financial medicine injected into it over the years has not brought it back to life. Many are waiting for the end, but not the Government which believe that it can be resuscitated.
In addition to lower prices and less demand, the industry has been plagued with labor unrest, high production costs, low productivity andoutdated equipmentandunions that still operate in 1950s mode in the 21st century.
Driving along the cane fields, one readily notices the poor irrigation system, the stunted growth of sugar canes and the once-thriving cane fields that are now in ruin. Also noticeable is some of the best cane-growing lands have turned into housing schemes. This is true of Diamond, Houston and Leonora.
Although the last administration knew of these problems, it still went ahead and spent billions of taxpayers’ dollars to build the White Elephant Skeldon Sugar factory.
Truth be told, the reign of King Sugar is over. Trying to save the industry will be costly, therefore, pouring more money into it is like pouring water on a duck’s back. However, the government must find other sources of employment for the workers to avoid placing them on the breadline.
At the same time, the government has to stop the political game and face the harsh reality that King Sugar has served the people of Guyana well over the years; but it is now dead and it is time to move on.
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