Guysuco is breathing its last

Nov 03, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Guysuco is in its death throes; it has been ailing for a long time. It got worse when the PPP held the reins of power. After the 2015 elections Guyana got the news of the patient’s deteriorated health reaching the stage where it needed life support or what the economists call subsidization.
A huge sum was spent on a commission of inquiry to find out perhaps how bad things had deteriorated. The only information the public got was that those who could not offer viable solution to the Guysuco crisis put themselves on a Board of Directors paying themselves $12.9 million per month.
Guyana is paying nine persons that sum of money to direct how to make Guysuco a millstone around our necks, with the full agreement of all of Guyana. The Cabinet was supposed to discuss the matter of these super salaries. Did we miss the response?
In diagnosing the sick agricultural corporation, there would have been found matters that incorporated corruption, squandermania, mis-use of European Union funds to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, failures at previous attempts at diversification, inept members of the Guysuco Board of Directors in previous Governments, high pay and other perks for overseas-based Chief Executives.
At present Guysuco is on the butcher’s chopping block. A special section has been established at NICIL to preside on the liquidation. When an inventory would be taken of what Guysuco owns, in whatever condition, we hope that among the derelict assets would be the present Board of Directors.
We are sure that some Hedge-fund Managers will need them.
September 19, 2016, Charles Sohan one of our respected hydraulic engineers, wrote an article published in Kaieteur News. I am taking the liberty to use sections of that article for this letter.
In his opening paragraph, the respected Mr. Sohan speaks about Guysuco abandoning sugar lands to grow rice at Wales. The Chief Executive Officer claimed that Guysuco had previously experimented with rice cultivation at Blairmont, West Bank Berbice in the 1980’s. He gave no indication as to its profitability then, although its cultivation was discontinued.
We add this question – what became of the five-ton rice mill and rice cultivation machinery that belonged to the rice project?
Now to the recent experiment at Wales. First we were told that the rice to be cultivated will be seed-line padi for sale to farmers. Next we heard the variety to be cultivated will be scented varieties liked onto the famous Indian variety, Basmattie.
Then rice will be cultivated for incorporation in feed materials for fish. Editor this whole think is fishy.
Some 260 acres of lands were converted to rice at Wales. The result of this process seems to be a secret. We have some information which says that twenty-six acres produced about thirty bags per acre. We take this figure with a grain of urea, a fertilizer used in rice growing. Further the remaining acres did not produce figures to crow about. Reasons given for such poor performance ranged from the area, being riverain, is not suitable for rice, is disease prone, to top, soil was bulldozed to level the land as is necessary in water control for rice farming..
Mr. Sohan says: The Government and Guysuco seem to have lost their way as they have no clear cut policy as to what should be done to abandoned sugar lands as the Corporation continues to survive on Government subsidies while its operation contracts and its production costs escalates.
The final paragraph of Mr. Sohan’s article calls for tough decision. Taking into consideration all the views expressed in the newspapers since the Minister of Agriculture made the premature disclosure of Wales, we have reached the time when there is need for a high level national discourse all over this country.
From the way matters are evolving around sugar Guyana is in a creek without paddle. Others may give the creek an obscene name.

Hafiz Rahman
National Farmers Organization

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