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Decision to close sugar estates ‘callous and unconscionable’ – Dr. Singh tells ILO meeting

Jun 12, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, says the Coalition’s decision to close the Wales, East Demerara, Rose Hall and Skeldon sugar estates in 2016 and 2017 was “ill-considered, callous and unconscionable.”
The decision, he said, has left families, communities and Guyana’s economy still reeling from the economic blow.
Dr. Singh was at the time addressing the commissioning of a study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Thursday, on the “Socio-Economic Impact of the Closure of GuySuCo Sugar Estates on Sugar Workers in Guyana.”
The report gives a comprehensive overview of the vast economic impact the estates’ closure have had on workers, sugar producing communities and the economy as a whole.
Dr. Singh said the sugar industry has been integral in the village and Guyanese economy. The closure of the four estates resulted in dramatic economic hardships, especially in rural Demerara and Berbice, with ripple effects across Guyana.
“What was striking was that this decision was taken without the benefit of any prior social and economic analysis and indeed, it conflicted with the report or the findings reported by the Commission of Inquiry which was commissioned by our predecessors in office, which stopped short of recommending the closure of any estates. It is particularly perplexing that having commissioned an Inquiry into the industry, which did not recommend the closure of any estate, the then Government proceeded with the closure of the estates.”
Some 7,000 Guyanese were placed on the breadline following the estates’ closures.
Dr. Singh said the Government welcomes the ILO’s study, which he said recounts the turmoil of the sugar workers and the sector beginning in February 2016.
He said the three remaining estates, Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt were then starved of investments, resulting in sugar production reaching its lowest level in history.
The Senior Minister said the Government has already begun restructuring the industry, which will see the reopening of the estates in an orderly fashion. The process commenced with the appointment of a new board and management. The Board has been tasked with developing a master plan that will guide the development of each estate, Dr. Singh relayed.
He said the Government expects the plan will restore some socio-economic balance in the sugar belt, including the recapitalisation of the industry, promoting product diversification and value-added production.
Mr. Dennis Zulu, Director, of ILO’s Decent Work Team and Office – Caribbean, said the study involved many months of hard work between consultants and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union.
UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Mikiko Tanaka, said the study revealed that behind every sugar worker is a family whose life, home and community has been the sugar estate.
“The sugar industry is a valuable part of the legacy and heritage of Guyana and is also a symbol of resilience of the painstaking labour, intergenerational, dedication, sacrifices encouraged overtime.
It is heart-breaking to read the painful consequences of commodity market fluctuations and sugar estate closures that have impacted workers and their families economically, socially and personally,” she said.
Ms. Tanaka also said the study offers many lessons for policy making and implementation and hopes it would inform decisions on the future of the industry. In 2016, the Coalition Government closed the Skeldon and Rose Hall estates in Region Six; Enmore, East Coast Demerara, and Wales on the West Bank of Demerara.

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