‘Uitvlugt sugar workers face grim future’

Apr 18, 2022 News

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– factory down for over a month; President promises livelihood programme

Kaieteur News – Hundreds of workers at the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate continue to be worried about their future as the factory remains closed over a month after the mill broke down.

As a result, the workers have not been earning and government is at pains to provide some cushion to their woes. During a meeting with the workers last Friday, President Irfaan Ali announced that the estate would find alternative work for six days per week on a short-term basis for the sugar workers. “Having listened to management, I am convinced that there’s enough work for planting, weeding, chemical spraying, cleaning of the side-line to get you at least six days per week now, and I’ve instructed that this be implemented immediately,” President Ali was quoted in the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying. The President said that the Government wants to see the sugar workers, like all other Guyanese, succeed.

“You have a Government who understands your pain; you have a Government who is committed to working with you and helping you. As we said when we came back, we are here to ensure that the sugar sector succeeds and ensure that we keep employment and not displace employment.”
He said that while the estate is trying its utmost best to resume grinding on a normal level, it continues to be plagued by issues with its gear. To remedy this, the Government has already procured another piece of equipment that will be delivered in July. While the Government waits, he said, they are working on finding a factory in Miami that has similar facilities.
At the meeting, the President spoke of overall support for the workers. He said that plans are being formulated to register the workers to be part of a livelihood improvement programme to supplement their estate jobs. One of the options is the establishment of chicken facilities where workers will be able to take part in poultry farming with approximately 150-200 birds.

“We are going to try to get the resources so that you don’t stay without work, you get the six days per week, and at the same time, we are going to work with you to support you with the livelihood option.” President Ali added that he will consult with the Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, to see what further help can be provided.
Back in March, the Guyana Sugar Corporation had confirmed that the Uitvlugt Sugar Factory is presently out of operation due to a mechanical failure of its #1Mill gearbox. In a statement, the Sugar Corporation said then that after the factory went down immediately when the mechanical problem was detected and the technical team kicked into action and had the necessary repairs commenced at a fabrication workshop. “The promised delivery date from the workshop is March 8th, 2022. If this plan is fulfilled, grinding operations will recommence on the evening of March 9th, 2022 where some 600 punts of cane are scheduled to be crushed,” GuySuCo said then. Since then, there has been no breakthrough in fixing the problem and recently reports surfaced that the sugar company was seeking to source the parts overseas. In the meantime, the workers have been asked to stay home as there is no work.
The Uitvlugt issue adds to the woes of the beleaguered sugar corporation that produced 30,865MT less of sugar when compared with 2020. Based on a report, GuySuCo’s pre-audited production stood at 58,025MT of sugar in 2021 compared to 88,890MT in 2020. Despite the significant shortfall, the Corporation had said it met all the needs of the local market for 2021. It was explained that the shortfall was a result of the loss of some 35 percent of the standing cane during the 2nd Crop of 2021 due to the flood.
“At Albion, where 50 percent of the production was programmed to be made, the mortality rate for the standing canes planned to be harvested for the 1st Crop of 2022 is estimated at 80 percent due to the floods. On the Berbice Estates where more than 77 percent of the production is made, the rainfalls in 2021 were 72 percent more than the previous year,” GuySuCo detailed, while noting that it drained some 4.5 million tonnes of water off the land daily during the 65-day flood.
The ailing sugar corporation has seen a continuous decline in performance over the years, in terms of production but has seen billions of dollars from the nation’s coffers being plugged annually into the industry.
Back in 2017, the Coalition Government had unveiled what it termed a ‘State Paper on the Future of the Sugar Industry’, which it then said would focus on the poorly-performing estates and have them shift from sugar to diversification. The plan was to amalgamate Wales Estate with Uitvlugt Estate and reassign its cane to the Uitvlugt factory, since the estate is operating at 50 percent capacity. Sixty percent of its drainage and irrigation infrastructure is in a dilapidated condition. The corporation furthermore seeks to divest itself of the Skeldon Estate. The estates of Albion and Rose Hall were to be amalgamated and the factory at Rose Hall is to be closed.”
The Coalition had said that the industry would then consist of three estates and three sugar factories. The estates would be Blairmont on the West Bank Berbice, Albion-Rose Hall in East Berbice and the Uitvlugt-Wales estate in West Demerara. The three estates will be complete with factories and will have cane supplied from all five locations. By virtue of the amalgamation, the Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD) and Rose Hall, Berbice factories were to be closed. The PPP/C had criticised the move and made a central theme of its 2020 elections campaign to reopen all of the shuttered estates.
However, two years after being in office, the government has not been able to reopen any of the estates. In fact, late last year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told state media that: “timeline for viability on sugar is linked to how quickly we decouple sugar from other activities, and so going purely after sugar itself it would mean a longer term return to viability. If we can merge sugar with other economic activities on these estates which we are trying to do then we can achieve overall viability faster.” For last year alone, GuySuCo received over $6B from the national Treasury. It received a further $6B in this year’s budget.

 

 

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