After $3B, another $4B funnelled into GuySuCo

Dec 29, 2020 News

Kaieteur News – Just three months after the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) was allocated the sum of $3B, the government returned to the National Assembly yesterday requesting an additional $4B.
While the previous $3B was to recapitalize the three estates closed by the former APNU+AFC government at Rose Hall, Skeldon, and Enmore, the $4B requested yesterday will support the recapitalization of the three operating estates at Blairmont, Albion and Uitvlugt, said Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha.
Up against intense scrutiny from the APNU+AFC parliamentary opposition, Mustapha told the National Assembly that because of the neglect the three operating estates were subjected over the last five years to; critical capital works have become necessary.
“If you go around the three operating estates you will realize that they are operating at 60 percent capacity… so you have to recapitalize to put in critical parts,” Mustapha told the House.
The Minister in his response to questions from Opposition Member of Parliament, Khemraj Ramjattan, on the urgent need for the spending, when a national budget was recently passed and another is expected within weeks, said that it was a direct response to the neglect of the former government.
Mustapha said the estates were mistreated by the former government and the inefficiency was only determined in subsequent assessments after the 2020 budget was passed.
He said as a matter of policy, the PPP/C government remains committed to returning GuySuCo to profitability and will invest to ensure it happens.
While assuring that the previous $3B went to the purposes intended, Mustapha said the $4B would bring the operating estates to a break-even point and eventually on the road to profitability.
The 2020 National Budget had also made provision for an additional $2B which the government had said is supposed to allow for the financial outlay required towards the reopening of estates.
The Government has started the process to reopen sugar estates closed by the former APNU+AFC Government.
The APNU+AFC Government had closed estates at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara, Rose Hall and Skeldon in Region Six and Enmore on the East Coast of Demerara.

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