Jagdeo is not a credible spokesperson on sugar

Sep 04, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

---

Kaieteur News- It is not uncommon for Guyana’s leaders to engage in finger-pointing and to attempt to deflect blame when it comes to the management of crucial industries. Bharrat Jagdeo, the former President of Guyana, has recently taken it upon himself to criticize the actions of the former APNU+AFC government towards the sugar industry.
However, it is essential to scrutinize Jagdeo’s own track record in the sugar industry before giving any weight to his opinions. Such an examination suggests that Jagdeo should be the last person to be criticizing anyone about sugar.
When Jagdeo assumed the presidency, local sugar production was topping 300,000 metric tons per annum. But by the time he departed from office, in 2011, production had plummeted to 236,000 metric tons. This dramatic decline in production cannot be solely attributed to external factors, such as the end of preferential trading arrangements with Europe. Instead, Jagdeo must shoulder a significant portion of the blame for the collapse of the local sugar industry, including the financial turmoil that befell the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) during his tenure.When it came into office in 2015, the APNU+AFC government established a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the sugar industry.

The COI reported that GUYSUCO incurred losses of $5.2 billion in 2008, which escalated to a staggering $17.4 billion by 2014, the year before the PPP/C demitted office. These financial woes cannot be ignored, and they occurred under Jagdeo’s leadership. It is a glaring testament to his government’s disastrous management of the sugar industry.
Jagdeo’s presidency was marked by grandiose promises to turn around the sugar industry. However, instead of progress, his initiatives led to regression. The so-called turnaround plan failed to improve the industry and instead worsened the fortunes of the industry.
One of the main contributors to this failure was the ill-fated Skeldon Sugar Factory project, a pet-project of Jagdeo. The construction of this factory turned into a calamity, making it the largest industrial investment failure in Guyana’s history. And it also hurt the sugar industry as it created liquidity problems for GUYSUCO from which the company never recovered.
Jagdeo’s audacious claim, later, that he would personally fix the problems associated with the factory only added insult to injury. The failure spoke volumes about his government’s failure to properly shepherd the industry.
Under the turnaround plan for the industry, of which the Skeldon Modernization Plan was a lynchpin, the cost of producing sugar was supposed to have been reduced to US $0.07 per pound. But this never materialized. Today, sugar is being produced at almost US $0.36 per pound, far higher than the cost which was necessary to allow sugar to become viable. This glaring disparity highlights the stark difference between Jagdeo’s rhetoric and his ability to deliver on his government’s commitments.
Jagdeo’s questionable track record extends beyond the performance of the industry. It includes his treatment of sugar workers, who he now purports to champion. During his presidency, the Diamond Estate was closed, leaving hundreds of workers on the breadline. These workers had to fight tooth and nail, resorting to threats of legal action, before receiving their deserved severance packages. Jagdeo’s handling of this situation demonstrated a callous disregard for the welfare of the very sugar workers he claims to now support.
Additionally, under Jagdeo’s Presidency, there were threats made by one of his operatives to derecognize the sugar workers’ union, GAWU. This threat was unprecedented and was perceived as being anti-union and anti-workers. Under pressure, Jagdeo was forced to disassociate himself from this threat. But no sanctions were placed on the operative.
Sugar workers are once again on the protest line for severance pay. Their protests recently brought them to the city. Yet, Jagdeo, who now seeks to lecture the nation about sugar, did not take the initiative to meet with them. This is in stark contrast to the actions he took in responding to protests by roadside vendors in Plaisance. On that occasion he went to meet the protestors. His inaction towards the protesting sugar workers exposes his lack of credibility in addressing their concern.
Bharrat Jagdeo therefore lacks the moral authority and credibility necessary to speak about sugar. While his government continues to bail out the industry, recent events demonstrate that the industry is not likely to break even any time soon, and will remain dependent for some time yet, on the largesse of the State.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

---

• Bharrat Jagdeo, GAWU, GUYSUCO, President of Guyana

---