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Changing CEOs cannot fix sugar problem-AFC
—-says Skeldon project worst investment since independence
Former Leader of the AFC Khemraj Ramjattan. (Changing CEOs cannot fix sugar problem)
Kaieteur News- The Alliance for Change on Friday called out the Government of Guyana for its treatment of the dire situation at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), saying that merely changing the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will not fix the problems.
The Guyana Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) raised concerns about the GuySuCo not meeting its production target. Former Leader of the Alliance for Change Khemraj Ramjattan said that “The sugar industry suffers fundamental problems, which cannot be solved by replacing CEOs, or fooling Guyanese with expectations of the hollowest order.”
Going into some statistics he told reporters that out of the 37,000 tons target for the first crop of 2024 GuySuCo managed to produce only 6,738 tons and for the second crop so far, they have managed to produce 25,000 tons of the 63,000 tons, with two months remaining to conclude it.
“All the chatter which came from former PPP appointed CEO Sasenarine Singh early this year that GuySuCo will realise increased sugar production in 2024, by expansion of acreage, retooling and mechanization was just poppycock and propaganda. When the PPP realised that Sase has fooled them, it sent Sase Singh off to Brussels and then brought one of its loyalist activists Mr. Cheong as the replacement,” Ramjattan lamented.
He highlighted that the loans taken to facilitate the project, which he deemed as “probably the worst investment ever since independence” is saddling the backs of Guyanese with a minimum repayment of US $3.8M per year.
“This burden would run at a minimum until 2033. Additionally, subventions to GuySuCo from the PPP government this year alone stands at $9.2 B. Since the PPP’s coming to office in 2020 an approximate sum of $43B, have so far been imputed to that corporation. So, the sweet talk of improving the production is thus all hollow. The intent was to create great expectations to the support base and to perpetuate massive misspending and corruption in the sector,” the former AFC leader said.
Furthermore, he repeated the party’s position that “sugar has been dying since Guyana lost our preferential prices to the European market when the WTO ruled that the preferential prices violated open market rules.”
GAWU last said it was deeply concerned over the current trend of sugar production. As of October 26, 2024, the Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc (GuySuCo) produced 24,711 tons of sugar, representing just 39 per cent of its 63,276 ton target. As much as 60 per cent of the cropping period has been exhausted, and the GAWU is apprehensive that the deficit cannot be closed in the remaining cropping weeks.
In a statement GAWU said from its perspective, “the industry’s sad situation cannot be delinked from the management of its cultivation and agricultural operations. According to GAWU, before the commencement of the crop, the Union drew GuySuCo’s attention to several important issues that required intervention. “It appears that our concerns were brushed aside. Recently, we have expressed concern about the production rate and trajectory. It seems that those charged with agricultural management in the industry have, for reason/s best known to themselves, chosen to turn a Nelson’s Eye.”
GAWU said given the conducive weather to mechanised sugar operations over the past few weeks, it is puzzled that daily production levels remained constrained. “It begs the question: What are the factor(s) which have inhibited production levels? The industry remains heavily reliant on manual cane harvesting complemented by mechanised loading, a practice that is now decades old.”
According to the union, the major challenge revolves around the quality of canes being produced, noting that while the industry cane yields have been higher than anticipated, though well below their potential, the sucrose content remains depressed. “We are conscious that the El Nino drought conditions would have had an impact. However, given the collective managerial experience in GuySuCo, better planning could have been advanced to mitigate some of the challenges.”
(Changing CEOs cannot fix sugar problem)
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