Halt the trial and error approach to GuySuCo

Apr 04, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The trial and error approach to Guysuco continues with the Special Purpose Unit and NICIL at the helm, more SPU than NICIL. The Minister of Agriculture has now made it pellucid that Guysuco no longer falls under the Ministry of Agriculture but the Ministry of Finance.
His happiness with this new ‘trial’ is understandable since he and his Ministry have made several ‘trials and errors’ from 2015 to 2018 resulting in the dissipation of $32 billion dollars with nothing to declare except increasing underperformance and drastically dwindling production levels of the entity.
More remarkable, also, is the fact that during this same period Wales, Rose Hall, Enmore and Skeldon Estates were closed and over 5000 workers booted resulting in social and economic chaos in these communities. The ‘sugar experts’ did not do any feasibility study to measure the negative social and economic impact of these closures although they were repeatedly educated by GAWU and the Opposition.
It is clear that these ‘trials and errors’ were probably the result of a ‘don’t care a damn attitude’ but the consequences are extremely costly to our already depressed economy.
We are now told by another ‘sugar expert’ that to keep the remaining three estates alive and to bring them to profitability there is a need to inject $30 billion. I could recall that the PPP in their Manifesto had planned to inject $20 billion into Guysuco to continue its mechanization process and to bring it back to profitability without any closures or job losses. After getting into power many negative terms were used by this Government to label and get rid of Guysuco.
More notable are the ones used by the former Sugar workers’ ‘champion’, Moses Nagamootoo, who likened Guysuco to a ‘black hole’ and the sugar workers as ‘raiders of the Treasury’. The Government through the Ministry of Finance now sees Guysuco as being ‘viable’, a complete about turn from what is said a few months ago.
Moreover, the ‘sugar experts’ now need $10-15 billion to reopen the operations at Wales, Rose Hall and Skeldon in a ‘miniaturize’ way so that they can become more lucrative to the 70-odd investors who have expressed interest to purchase the estates as they are, that is , in their current conditions.
At this point I want to bring to the attention the destructive capabilities of this Government. When these estates were closed these factories were cannibalized to a large extent and the parts moved to the remaining three estates so the amount of monies required will be to largely replace these cannibalized parts and which I do not for a moment think will be enough the even ‘miniaturized the operations’ at these estates.
It will be another $15 billion down the ‘dark hole’ created by this Government. This reminds me so much of the TATA buses which were cannibalized one after the other until all said ‘tata’. These estates should be sold as they are! Incompetence and corruption reign supreme in this Government!
Why the need for a syndicated bond of $30 billion? We are told that this amount will provide capital, support infrastructure maintenance and upgrade at Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt. In addition, funds are expected to go towards developing co-generation capacity for the estates’ operations and sold to the national grid.
While this may look good on paper, the reality is far different. According to the COI, at that time, Guysuco has the capability of supplying 17MW of power to the Grid but GPL can only take 15MW. Therefore, with co-generation capacities at Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt will GPL be in a position to effect the transmission?
The same COI had said that land sale at Ogle and LBI can generate in excess of $57 billion It stated that Ogle has 26 acres while LBI has 2,282.5 acres which real estate dealers have proposed can be sold at a whopping $25 million per acre. So why go into more debts when you can sell these lands and have enough monies to conduct your ‘experiments’?
A point to note is the fact that this Government continued to harp and sing that the PPP bankrupted Guysuco, although they failed to mention that the same COI had clearly stated that out of the $82 billion debts more than 75% was long-term liabilities! Now this Government feels comfortable in plunging Guysuco into a short-term liability which must be repaid in just four years.
This is bound to be another costly ‘error’ since no proper feasibility is done. This can be concluded from the fact that this decision came as soon as the new Chairman for Guysuco is appointed. This same person is the Head of the SPU and I do feel that he should be tested on the closed estates rather than allow him an additional three guinea pigs!
Another, alarming fact is that all the assets of NICIL and Guysuco have been used as collateral for the syndicated loan and it said that the repayment of the loan will come from selling lands, privatization, co-generation and value-added products, so why not sell the lands mentioned above now rather than later? More loan costs will be added to Guysuco’s already huge burden. Is this a prudent move by the Chairman?
Lastly, it is time that these ‘trials and errors’ are brought to an end, rather than squandering another $45 billion on the closed and the existing estates, the entire Guysuco should be fully privatized now!
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
RDC Councilor –Region 6

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