Ad hoc activities in Agriculture can t quite cut it

Feb 08, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor
Dr. Vishnu Bisram penned that Agriculture is key to the long term development of the country and he applauded the Minister for his activist presence all over the country. Being everywhere does not mean progress in agriculture. Agreed that Agriculture is critical for national development, far more important than the budding oil industry. Is Zulfikar Mustapha the right person for the job? Does he have the expertise and background to save the industry?
Mustapha cannot be compared to his predecessor Noel Holder who failed agriculture or Leslie Ramsammy who had some measured success. Mustapha s tenure at Agriculture may turn out to be more dramatic than Robert Persauds. Just when it was believed that Robert Persaud was perhaps at the bottom of the deep end of a dark pit into which Agriculture had fallen, now comes Mustapha? Will he take us further below Robert? The country has to brace for further depths into which Agriculture sank.
There are grumbling that “taxes” on contractors are very demanding and very high to the point of being unaffordable to carry out infrastructure work that meet minimum quality standards. A point is reached where some contractors are foregoing NDIA work. They cant cope with demands of the many players who want “taxes”, including one political party. It was no different under the preceding regime or the one before it. But is this change? Senior staff have become “tax men” with some grumbling about their role.
It is noted that project awards are not being given out at the rate they should for progress or to keep up with development as under the last PPP administration or even under the APNU regime. Is it because of the higher “contractor taxes”? Are contracts held up or denied because “taxes” are not paid up front as occurred under the last regime?
Are the fundamentals of Agriculture being addressed to return it as the number one sector of the economy? Agriculture lacks a practical vision for long-term sustenance and a return of its glorious role in the economy as happened under the late great Cheddi Jagan.
There is no workable plan for agriculture. Ad hoc activities in Agriculture cant quite cut it. And the Ministry appears not to be in charge of Guysuco where there seems to be a runaway CEO. One of the papers refers to the Minister as a “misfit” for GuySuCo. Is it so? Neither the Board nor the Minister seems to be able to control the CEO? Is he being protected by someone higher up?
There is not a single new project for the long-term sustenance of sugar. Good, experienced, competent people are being let go and the Minister lost his voice. There is no effective plan for the company to turn it around, but board members say there is a plan for a specialized security services for the CEO and upgraded housing.
The sugar workers cant get an increase in salary to build a proper house for themselves but the CEOs habitat is being upgraded to that of a king. Who is championing sugar workers interests? Will GAWU speak out? Why is money being wasted on upgrading residence of and providing top notch VIP security to the CEO like that given to the President, VP, and Prime Minister? Is this the kind of vision and upgrading of GuySuCo that will turn around the industry? Where is the Minister on this issue? Where are the President and VP on this issue?
Rumours abound that APNU sold much of Enmore Estate land to APNU cronies, some of who have now switched loyalty to PPP with big bucks. What effort is being made to repossess these parcels of land? Why are monied people getting large tracts of lands but sugar workers cant get house lots at Enmore? Do sugar workers have to pay “a contract tax” for a house lot in the Enmore area?
Yours truly,
Haresh Singh Kumar

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