$30B plugged into GuySuCo since 2020 despite 34.7% decline

Feb 03, 2022 News

…meant to prop up image of survivability at expense of poor Guyanese — Opp. MP

Kaieteur News – The ailing Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has, over the years seen a continuous decline in performance in terms of production but has seen billions of dollars from the nation’s coffers being plugged annually into the industry.

Opposition Member of Parliament, Vinceroy Jordan is convinced Budget 2022 is crude, cruel and wicked.

This is the determination of Member of Parliament (MP) in the Opposition benches, Vinceroy Jordan, when he added his voice to the Budget debates for 2022 which continued yesterday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
The A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) MP, who kicked off the third day of Debates, told the House when the Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, presented the 2022 Budget, he was “living in Disneyland and planning a fairytale for GuySuCo in Wonderland.”
According to Jordan, “this government spent almost $30 billion on GuySuCo from 2020 to now and still fail to reopen one estate today.”
He told the House that the sugar industry “has been pronounced dead by the PPP/C government when they failed to resurrect and reopen the number of sugar estates as they promised to do once they returned to office.”
Jordan was vehement that the failure to reopen any of the Estates, “is not only a failed promise but an unrealistic venture.”
He said, “especially when they keep plunging billions of dollars every year to prop up the image and survivability of GuySuCo at the expense of thousands of poor Guyanese and hardworking public servants who continue to suffer.”
To this end, he pointed out to the House that there was just over 80,000 metric tons of sugar in 2020.
He reported too on a revised target of 97,420 metric tons in 2021 to 70,000 metric tons, then to an unsatisfactory 57,995 metric tons, “then to a further reduction of planned production target of 66,000 metric tons for the year 2022.”
According to Jordan, what this represents is a 34.7 percent decline in the performance of the sugar industry over the years at “this unprofitable poorly managed entity.”
This, he said, obtains against a background of the APNU+AFC Coalition having a five years (2020-2025) Business Plan for GuySuCo—a plan that was estimated to continue on the path of production of 147,000 metric tons annually.
To this end, he sought to illustrate that “….with the PPP/C managing the sugar industry, we saw production significantly reducing from 92,246 metric tons in 2019.”
Jordan’s presentation to the Budget debates was heavily critical of the document as one that was akin to another pandemic.
He dismissed Budget 2022 as a long empty talk, “one which has been a funded waste by the tax payers’ dollars.”
According to Jordan, “in an already challenged and adverse Guyanese society, one would have expected that with a budgetary plan coming to this House it would bring great relief for all citizens, workers and their families amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
He insisted that Budget 2022, instead of instilling hope, “has caused Guyanese now to be in a much depressed and worrisome state now knowing that they have to put up very soon with three major pandemics instead of two in one country; first, the COVID-19, secondly the PPP/C government and thirdly the soon to be passed 2022 budgetary allocations.”
To this end, he lamented that Budget 2022 appears to cater for a selected few, namely, “one class and calibre of people, one set of affiliates and associates, and yes one way of governance through corruption, inequalities and injustices.”
As such, he concluded “this budget will indeed build one class and group of people while Sir (Speaker Manzoor Nadir), the ordinary citizens and hard-working public servants are left out in the cold fighting for survival in an ever changing and difficult society.”
Adamant “this long empty talk of a budget will put significant pressure on the lives of the ordinary Guyanese,” Jordan told the House, “Budget 2022 is crude, cruel and wicked, it is like a runaway train heading this country into a serious wreckage; it will do the ordinary Guyanese no good.”
He concluded by saying “Guyanese today are emotionally distressed at hearing this budget and will soon file a report with the Guyana Police Force.”

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