Latest update February 5th, 2025 11:03 AM
Ramotar as a GuySuCo Director and President was a failure
Dear Editor,
In a March 11 letter which appeared in the news media, Donald Ramotar, former President of the Republic and a Director of GuySuCo stated therein, “that the problem with GuySuCo was due to bad management”. He further opined that the sugar industry should be transformed into a modern manufacturing complex to produce such value-added products as electricity, refined sugar, ethanol and paper products thereby enhancing the country’s wealth.
Unfortunately, the proposals for diversification are gone as GuySuCo is winding down its sugar production. In any case, the APNU+AFC Govt. its owner does not have the resources to bankroll such investments as it has to find funding to liquidate the accumulated debt. Also, production of the products which he listed as being transformational is unlikely to generate the financial returns which would attract investors or joint ventures with the Govt.
Contrary to Mr. Ramotar’s claim, GuySuCo never achieved any turnaround of its operations in year 2015 as it absorbed 1.8 % of GDP in subsidy that year and 1.3 % of GDP in Yr. 2016. In October 2017, the European Union National Sugar Production Quotas will end and with a projected low raw sugar price this year, the subsidy which will have to be paid to GuySuCo to keep its operation going in year 2017 will have to be substantially increased.
Over the years, high production costs, low cane yields due to lack of research and development of its agronomic practices, poor labor relations and as Mr. Ramotar noted but did nothing about it during his tenure as a director of GuySuCo – bad management, caused GuySuCo to accumulate large yearly losses in its operation. Interestingly, GuySuCo’s management has always been able to lay blame on “El Nino” that wicked climate causer for low crop yields resulting in failure to achieve yearly production targets.
During his term as President, Mr. Ramotar performance clearly showed that he lacked leadership skills and the political will which he now postulates to make the big changes necessary to move Guyana from an agricultural economy to an industrial one and execute policies which would have enabled workers to learn new skills for a changing economy. Guyanese workers cannot get jobs and share the wealth from any technology-led growth unless they have the necessary skills.
Today’s jobs – white collar, blue collar or no collar require more education and interpersonal skills than in the past. Technology leads to economic growth and hence jobs. Therefore the APNU+AFC Govt. has the challenge to help the displaced sugar workers share the gains as Guyana moves from an agricultural economy to an industrial one with sensible policies which it is still to articulate. Such policies will need more vocational training or through apprenticeships.
The Govt. has to institute re-training programs for the displaced sugar workers and put them to work building and repairing bridges, roads, sea defenses and other infrastructures. The country is short of good mechanics, plumbers, electricians, etc. Workers who lose their jobs for whatever reason don’t usually have the money to pick-up and move to where the jobs and training are. Therefore, the APNU+AFC Govt’s help is needed for the laid-off sugar workers who do not want to up-end their lives and eventually become wards of society.
Finally, neither Barbados nor Guyana produces enough bagasse to fire steam boilers for turbines to generate significant amounts of electricity throughout the year. Therefore, it is not a stable and viable element for the production of electricity to feed the national grid. In Yr. 2020 it is expected that oil and gas will be produced from Guyana’s oil fields off its northern coast. Gas is competitive to produce electricity and would probably be cheaper than hydropower electricity from Amaila Falls. Therefore, the APNU+AFC Govt. should focus its development strategy for growth of the economy to create jobs by using gas power turbines to generate cheap and reliable electricity which the country so badly needs to jump-start the economy and create the jobs for all those laid-off sugar workers.
Charles Sohan
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