GuySuCo’s 2017 first crop makes a disastrous start

Mar 24, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Readers would recall that the IMC and Board of Directors of GuySuCo took credit for 2015 performance despite taking reins of the industry in June of that year. That performance was attributed to the IMC’s leadership and zero political interference in the Corporation. After one and a half years at the controls, production at end of 2016 plummeted to a 25 year low. The reasons proffered for that abysmal performance were weather and labour, not IMC’s leadership.
We now come to 2017. The first crop of this year commenced during week of Feb. 12th and after 4 weeks of operation, sugar production is a disaster. One wonders whether GuySuCo’s Board or Govt. is monitoring performance indicators for the Corporation or they place total trust in the utterances of the inept CEO. At this juncture, efficiency is of utmost importance to reduce cost and ultimately dependence on treasury.
I say this because after four (4) weeks of operations, a mere 132,000t cane was milled producing 10,137t sugar with 5 factories operational. This translates to a conversion rate of 13t of cane to 1t of sugar for the entire industry. What is even more troubling is some factories are taking 14+ tonnes cane to make 1 tonne sugar. A quick comparison of the corporation’s production estimate shows a dismal 49% achievement of target after 4 weeks. Such performance level translates to astronomical unit cost of production. The present performance raises the question whether there is any benefit from the large group of executives, technical managers, engineers and assistants that the inept, arrogant CEO employed recently. I am almost certain that whenever GuySuCo’s communications unit surfaces to defend this shameful performance, it will cast blame on run-down assets, weather and workers. Management will take zero responsibility.
Sookram Persaud

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