Administration continuing to punish sugar

Jan 09, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

The GuySuCo in a statement which appeared in the media regarding its production lamented the performance of its factories at Uitvlugt and Albion.
The Corporation, according to a January 03 article in another newspaper, said they were “…major mechanical failures in the Albion and Uitvlugt factories…” The newspaper also reported that the state-owned sugar company indicated that “[t]he Industry will continue to face challenges to achieving reliability in the factories if … capital investments continue to be delayed.”
The GAWU has recently learnt that the industry, this year, requires some $10.4B in support, of which $6.5B is required for capital investment. As far as we are aware, despite the Administration being knowledgeable of the GuySuCo’s plans and need for assistance, there has been no move towards ensuring the industry receives the help it is seek.
Of course, we would recollect caretaker President David Granger during his visit to Albion in June, 2019 said “[o]ur sugar industry is going to recover from the difficulties it is facing. This sugar industry is not on the point of death…I am not here to bury the sugar industry… We are in the process of restructuring this industry to respond to changes, which have taken place both externally and internally. It is being restructured so that it can be revived; so that we can make this industry not just sustainable but profitable. We are not here to merely survive; we are here to thrive! We are here to guarantee employees’ livelihoods. We are here to guarantee sugar’s position in the national economy. We are here to safeguard the rural economy”.
But despite the big talk by Mr. Granger, when it comes time to act and to put the money where his mouth is, he is frozen and, so far, has not made a decision.
The fact that the industry, at least at this time, is not having the support it requires, will in all likelihood, see a poorer performance in 2020. The GuySuCo has already said delayed investments would result in “…challenges to achieving reliability in the factories…”
With 151,000 tonnes of 2019 canes to be harvested in the 2020 first crop and insufficient funds to carry out full maintenance during the ongoing out-of-crop period, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to say what would be the outcome.
Clearly, the Granger Administration is not interested in sugar and more so sugar workers and their families and their communities. Apparently no, or any, effort would be spared to ensure that the industry and the thousands who depend on it are punished and forced into miserable circumstances. All the talk is nothing but cheap sloganeering.
Yours faithfully,
Seepaul Narine
General Secretary
GAWU

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