A major issue that must be faced

Jan 08, 2020 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

Before the 2015 General Elections, APNU+AFC vigorously denied its intention to close SUGAR and, in fact, promised “to energize SUGAR and return it to former glory years”. APNU+AFC was forced during the 2015 elections campaign into denying its intention to close SUGAR because, during 2013 and 2014, various spokespersons had leaked APNU’s intention to close SUGAR if it got into government. Consequently, in the 2015 campaign, APNU+AFC had to go out of its way to deny it would close sugar estates and vigorously promised the country and sugar workers that “SUGAR was too big to fail and that SUGAR must remain the foundation of the economy”.
This all changed in May 2015 as APNU+AFC took control of the government. Four estates were closed, more than 7,000 workers lost their jobs and the remaining ones have been treated as second-class citizens. They have not had a wage increase for five successive years. The annual production incentive (API) has virtually disappeared. After an encouraging production achievement of 233,000 tons of sugar in 2015, GUYSUCO barely was able to produce 90,000 tons in 2019, a whopping 17,000 tons below an already low target of 107,000 tons. This is the worst production in almost 100 years and the worst production since 1876 if we leave out years of severe droughts and floods.
Through NICIL/SPU, GUYSUCO took a loan of $G30B ($US150M). No one is accounting for the money. But APNU+AFC, NICIL/SPU and GUYSUCO are justifying 2019 disgraceful production by blaming workers, the weather and factory downtime. The evidence tells a different story. The workers did not strike more in 2019 than they did in 2015 or 2016 or 2017 or 2018. In fact, fewer days were lost because of workers’ strikes in 2019 than were lost in any of the previous years since 2014. Thus, accusing workers is not only a bogus excuse, but insulting to workers. The weather did not affect cultivation and harvesting any more than it did in any of the years for more than a decade now. In fact, rice production in 2019 which is far more sensitive to bad weather was able to surpass production for 2016, 2017 and 2018. This excuse is not just incomprehensible, but is clearly out of desperation.
It is true, however, that factory downtime, accounting for close to 800 days, especially at Albion and Blairmont, did contribute to the dismal production in the estates. In combination with poor management of the industry, the downtime played an important role in GUYSUCO’s worst production for almost 150 years, outside of those years when weather brought the industry to a halt.
Starving GUYSUCO of the resources they need to effectively manage the industry is no accident. Demoralizing the workers is deliberate. The intention is to create a failing industry as an excuse to finally close SUGAR. If APNU+AFC continues in Government, there will be further closures of estates. Blairmont and Uitvlugt are on the chopping block in 2020-2021. I had predicted the Wales closure for 2015-2016 and it happened. When I raised the abandonment of the sugar fields in West Canje as a sign that Rose Hall will be closed in 2016-2017, I was accused of fear mongering. It turned out to be true. I also predicted the Enmore-LBI closure in 2017-2018. The deliberate sabotaging of sugar production in Guyana is setting the stage for the eventual closure of SUGAR, just as APNU+AFC had vowed in 2013 and 2014. I harbour no doubt that APNU+AFC will close estates in 2020-2021, leaving only Albion to meet local demands.
APNU+AFC, NICIL/SPU and GUYSUCO have no excuse for the dismal 90,000 tons of sugar production in 2019. There was no major strikes, no serious weather-related conditions, but GUYSUCO fell more than 17,000 below its own target. In 2015, GUYSUCO produced 233,000 tons, meaning under APNU+AFC leadership, GUYSUCO’s production has fallen to less than 39% its 2015 production. In fact, since 1876, this is the worse ever production in a year not affected by massive flooding or drought. Every year since 1876, the first year Guyana reached the milestone of 100,000 tons, Guyana has consistently reached that milestone, outside of years of debilitating droughts and floods. But 2019 is only the harbinger – unless there is a change in government, GUYSUCO has more dreadful years ahead.
Guyana, reached 100,000 tons sugar production for the first time in 1876, that is 144 years ago, as Ian McDonald reminded us a few weeks ago. Between 1876 and 1926, a period of 50 years, Guyana failed to surpass 90,000 tons only ten times, in 1878, 1899, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1919, 1920, 1923, 1924 and 1926. All of those years, Guyana suffered from massive multi-year droughts and floods. For example, in 1878, Guyana produced 76,525 tons of sugar, but suffered from a debilitating drought that totally obliterated agriculture, a drought that began in 1877 and ended in 1879. Between 1910 and 1914, Guyana suffered a drought that began in 1910 and ended in 1914. The point is that production below 90,000 tons in the 50-years period between 1876 and 1926 was mainly due to either catastrophic droughts or floods.
From 1926 to 2018, Guyana maintained production that never fell below 100,000 tons. Guyana’s sugar production had ramped up to a level that even severe floods and droughts did not result in production falling below 100,000 tons, until 2019. For 95 successive years, Guyana maintained production way above 100,000 tons. Even with the catastrophic floods of 2005, Guyana produced more than 200,000 tons of sugar.
Thus, if we leave out the years where national production was affected by severe droughts and floods, the 2019 production of 90,000 tons, was last achieved in 1875, almost 150 years ago. That is the record of the APNU+AFC-led GUYSUCO. It is disgraceful and a reason why we must put an end to this shame. For the upcoming elections, this is one of the major issues facing us. Will we allow SUGAR to end in Guyana or will we allow SUGAR to resume its role as a major employer and as a major player in the socio-economic architecture of Guyana? The choice has become clear – APNU+AFC will end the important socio-economic role of SUGAR, several small parties, like Badal’s party support this move, while the PPP is vowing to reopen sugar estates and restore the glory days of SUGAR.

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

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