President vows to fire GuySuCo management if production target not met  

Dec 23, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News- Despite pouring billions into the Guyana Sugar Corporation with little results since it returned to government – the PPP/C Administration is now warning of management shake-up if the underperforming state entity does not meet its target.

The bearer of the news was President Irfaan Ali, during an interview with reporters over the weekend. Noting that he is aware of the challenges facing the corporation, President Ali said the management is also aware of their underperformance. However, he said, failure to meet specific targets will result in decisive managerial actions.  “We sat down with them [and] they brought together an investment plan that is needed to keep the factory efficient. We have supported that investment plan [and] I have made it very clear that if the target for 2025 (first and second crop target) is not met, then heads will roll,” President Ali was quoted in a Department of Public Information (DPI) press release.

The ailing sugar corporation has, over the years seen 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. In the mid-year report, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh said the industry is estimated to have contracted by 60.4 per cent in the first half of this year, with production of 6,739 tonnes of sugar reported by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). This performance was attributed to the carried over impacts of drier-than-usual weather conditions last year into the second quarter of this year. As a result of the performance in the first half of the year, the growth projection for the sector is now 16.3 per cent for 2024, with a revised projection of 70,000 tonnes of sugar to be produced this year.

Additionally the Government said its interventions in the industry are aimed at diversifying and modernising the sugar industry, while reducing the cost of production. The same report stated that some 2,734 hectares of land were converted to support mechanised cultivation and harvesting of sugar cane at the Rose Hall, Albion, Blairmont, and Uitvlugt estates, bringing the total land converted to 8,400 hectares. Moreover, six additional cane harvesters were expected to be operational by the end of 2024, increasing the fleet to ten.

Further, the rehabilitation of heavy and light duty revetments to strengthen the drainage system across the industry is on track for completion. An additional sugar dryer at the Blairmont Estate, budgeted at $60 million, is expected to be installed by the end of the year.  This dryer will enhance the quality of the sugar for packaging. Further, the two additional lines at the packaging plant at Blairmont and construction of the building for the packaging plant at Albion are on track to be completed by the end of the year.  The industry currently employs 8,179 persons and it is anticipated that employment will expand to over 8,300 in the remainder of the year.

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. The coalition also sought to divest itself of the Skeldon Estate. The estates of Albion and Rose Hall were to be amalgamated and the factory at Rose Hall was 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 PPP/C had criticised the move and made a central theme of its 2020 elections campaign to reopen all of the shuttered estates.  As part of its efforts to modernise the sugar industry, the PPP Government has injected billions to mechanise certain aspects of production and improve facilities to increase production output. At present, packaging plants are being constructed in Albion and Blairmont to improve value-added products. President Ali had said previously that efforts to revitalise the industry comes at a high cost and cannot be considered solely a financial product, but as an economic solution for families.

(President vows to fire GuySuCo management if production target not met  )

 

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• Dr. Ashni Singh, Finance Minister, Guyana Sugar Corporation, PPP/C administration, President Ali

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