NICIL takes control of four closed sugar estates

Jan 09, 2018 News

over 70,000 acres, machinery, plants, equipment, etc.

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan

It is final.

Ahead of the last stretch to divest and privatise four sugar estates, the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) has now taken control of four sugar estates.

NICIL’s Special Purpose Unit (SPU) will now be steaming ahead with plans to have the estates valued and for investors to be found.

According to the Official Gazette of December 30, 2017, NICIL, which is described as a wholly-owned state company established for the purpose which includes development and management of certain property undertakings, will now have control of the estates- Skeldon, Rose Hall, Enmore and Wales- free and clear from all claims and liabilities.

The movable and immovable properties of the estates are worth billions of dollars with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), an international firm, hired to conduct a valuation. The reports of the valuations are due within a few weeks and will herald the next phase of engaging potential investors.

More than 70 proposals, from local and international companies, have already been submitted to the SPU which is operating from the LBI office of GuySuCo, East Coast Demerara.

Explaining the transfer of the four estates, the order in the Official Gazette, which was signed by Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan explained that it would be known as Order No. 45 of 2017-The Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc. (Transfer of Property) Order 2017.

In addition to the movable and immovable properties, NICIL has taken control of all the machineries, plant, equipment, motor and agricultural vehicles, tools, office furniture and even computers.

The lands involved between the four estates in Demerara and Berbice are in excess of 70,000 acres.

NICIL is also now in total control of the shares of GuySuCo held by the state.
The 400-year-old industry is facing its toughest test for survival yet with almost all the Caribbean countries already exiting the sweetener which dates back to slavery days.

However, Guyana has persevered, with seven estates still in existence until the end of 2016.

Since then, four estates have been closed in a major cost-cutting exercise to reduce the billions of dollars that consecutive governments have been pouring into the industry.

The David Granger Administration, although facing protests by the Opposition and the unions, remain steadfast insisting that the industry is draining the lifeblood of the country.

Over the last three years, almost $32B was given to GuySuCo with sugar being produced at a loss-making three times for what it is being sold for.

The re-organisation and restructuring will see GuySuCo holding onto to three estates and 115,000 tonnes being targetted this year, as part of the bid to ensure profitability.

The moves are deeply worrying for sugar communities and tough one for the administration with the backlash swift.

A major protest is likely for Berbice today by worried sugar workers and others affected by the retrenchment.

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