GuySuCo on verge of foreclosure as funds run out- GAWU

Jun 26, 2020 News

– says NICIL sill to release funds

The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) could be heading into foreclosure by the end of this week, if it does not receive money from the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

GAWU’s Seepaul Narine

In a statement the Guyana Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU) revealed that, through several sources in GuySuCo, it has learnt that the state-owned company will exhaust its remaining funds by this week-end. “Our sources have informed us that the monthly-paid employees of the company, who were to be paid on June 26, 2020, will not receive their salaries as there are insufficient resources to offset the payment,” the statement said.
GAWU added, “When we asked about the promised release of resources from the Government-holding company, NICIL, our sources confirmed that, so far, none of the touted monies have been released to the sugar company. Persons in the GuySuCo, we have learnt, are very anxious, at this time, considering production has halted and income from the sales of sugar and molasses have ceased. One source indicated that if NICIL does not release any monies soon, the Company will be forced to close its doors.”
Additionally, “GAWU was informed that with several more weeks before the second crop commences, the industry requires about $1B to meet wages and salaries expenditures while additional monies are required to meet other operational expenses.”
Speaking to Kaieteur News, Seepaul Narine, Head of GAWU, explained that “ GuySuCo through our sources does not have money to pay salary workers such as the senior and junior staffs, they only have money to pay wages (weekly salaries).”
He added that the industry requires $1B but NICIL has approximately $21B outstanding for GuySuCo after it raised $30B in bonds but only gave the company approximately $9B. This, he said, is in addition to the $30M raised recently from the sale of prime lands which was said to be used for GuySuCo.
In its statement, GAWU also raised concerns about potential flooding due to the lack of funding. “There are some worries that in the absence of sufficient funds, the Corporation may not be able to purchase sufficient fuel to operate its pumping stations. If this becomes a reality, we could see several villages being flooded, should the rainy season persist. We have learnt that the Corporation is seeking the assistance of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to avert such disaster.”

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