It was the PPP Government that ruined the sugar industry

Nov 18, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
I refer to a news story in Kaieteur News (Nov 14, 2016) in which former President Donald Ramotar blames the present Granger government for the atrocious condition of the Skeldon sugar factory. Mr.Ramotar is very selective in his reflection on the state of the Skeldon factory. He has forgotten that former President Jagdeo had promised to fix the factory which was producing sugar at 36 (US) cents per pound, while the world price was 16 (US) cents per pound. Mr. Jagdeo had said that without Skeldon being fixed, the sugar industry would be dead. The PPP didn’t fix it.
Now Mr.Ramotar wants Guyanese to believe that the decay took place in the past 17 months. Sir, iron and steel don’t rot in months. After spending some $50 billion on the Skeldon factory, the Government took over the structure without proper trial runs.
The factory was defective from day one. Then the PPP regime brought in “doctors” from South Africa and India to save the patient which was by that time, was near to the grave. It was under Mr.Ramotar, as a member of Guysuco Board, that the sugar industry collapsed and went bankrupt. Mr Ramotar left Guysuco with some $90 billion debt, and to keep life in the industry government over the past 5 years gave some $40 billion in bailout to pay wages to sugar workers. Under the new government, in less than 2 years, some $21 billion was given as bailout. The PPP should be ashamed to make the silly claims they make now- after they ruined the sugar industry and betrayed the workers.
Gobin Harbhajan
Member – Skeldon Electricity Inc (SEI) Board of Directors
Councillor – Regional Democratic Council – Region # 6
Regional Representative – OPM

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