Latest update September 11th, 2026 10:26 AM
Govt not serious about GuySuCo’s return to profitability – Vinceroy Jordan
Kaieteur News – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament, Vinceroy Jordan said the PPP/C Administration is not serious about seeing the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) return to place of economic success.
Member of Parliament (MP) and Shadow Minister of Agriculture Vinceroy Jordan
Jordan, who is also Shadow Minister of Agriculture, said the $113 billion budgeted for the sector this year is a visionless move by the government, especially since it keeps pumping good money into a bad situation.
“The government is not serious about production. The government is not serious about GuySuCo returning to profitability. They’re not serious about GuySuCo being sustainable. Hence, if they had put proper measures in place, rather than just pouring monies into GuySuCo, we would see structured measures whereby the government will ensure that the management of GuySuCo is held accountable and that GuySuCo’s daily operation is properly managed,” Jordan relayed.
The politician also addressed the increased allocation to the Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) sub-sector.
“We know as an opposition, that this government has spent almost 40 or would have given almost 40% of the allocation to D&I to contractors as a giveaway, because D&I has been seen as the most corrupt area within agriculture. We have pump stations and sluices that are not completed from since 2022. We know the famous Tepui contract. We know above that, that there are many others that are going to the friends, families and favorites, to the point that allegations are made at the Minister of Agriculture himself and his family are benefiting from large, huge contracts within the Drainage and Irrigation Sector. Those allegations are founded upon the fact that they are seen and are among those who are supervising and benefiting from majority of these projects,” he said.
Jordan said the injections into the agriculture sector must have developmental value to citizens.
“We have seen in budget 2026 that that there is no increase in the minimum wage. There is no increase in the percentage rate at which taxes are being charged as PAYE. All we’ve seen is a mere $10,000 added to the tax threshold, and we know that that $2,500 cannot really do anything for the ordinary Guyanese. We were anticipating at minimum, $400,000 as the basic tax threshold, because we have the revenue, we have the wealth from our oil and so we can give back to our people,” he lamented.
This year’s national budget has seen the allocation of some $113.2 billion to the agriculture sector, with $81.9 billion set aside for drainage and irrigation and $13.4 billion for the sugar sector.
The allocation to the sugar sector represents a $100 million increase from 2025. In his presentation, Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh said the government will continue to restore the Guyana Sugar Corporation to financial viability and long-term sustainability.
“In the last five years, we reopened the Rose Hall Estate, and upgraded the field and factory infrastructure at Albion, Blairmont, Rose Hall and Uitvlugt, which together, re-energised the previously devastated local rural economy. We also remodeled the marketing and sales mix from bulk sugar to higher value products and provided direct economic support to over 5,200 severed workers. Today, more than 8,300 persons are employed in the sector,” he said.
Dr. Singh sad that over the next five years, the objective will be to continue mechanisation of field operations through land conversion; improve mechanical planting and harvesting; modernise factories and improve factory operations; promote high-yielding and high-value cane varieties; invest in value-added production including with private sector participation; improve worker, union, and management relations and transition workers to higher skilled roles.
“Ultimately, as outlined in the 2025 manifesto, the strategy is to effectively transform and diversify GuySuCo into an agro-industrial hub for rural economic development.
“In 2026, over 3,000 hectares are targeted to be converted for mechanised harvesting. In addition, we will: replace three sugar boilers; procure five cane harvesters; construct a conveyor system for billet canes at Albion; procure additional sugar dryers for Rose Hall and Uitvlugt; install billet cane feeder tables; expand value-added production; and, improve all-weather road access to facilitate movement of billet canes.,” he said.
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Until a paradigm shift in production methodology is implemented, the Government will have to continue to subsidise GUYSUCO. The current method of sugar cultivation is wrong. There is too much sea salt locked up in the soil particles in the sugar cane fields. There’s a way of attenuating the salt locked up in the fields. I’ve made proposals to rectify the situation…to no avail.
I’m ready to come and help, at short notice!