Dear Editor,

The following represents the tip of the iceberg and is intended to be a challenge to all investigative journalists.

In GuySuCo’s restructuring plan they intend to remove the Head Office to Albion, claiming that they will save $100M. Where is the feasibility study in relation to this proposal? Have they found out from  key staff and managers whether they are prepared to relocate to Berbice with their families? If the relocation is so important to the survival of the industry, why not relocate the Ministry of Agriculture to Berbice also?

Why did GuySuCo sell its property in Camp Street where Clico is now completing a huge building? Why did they sell their property in Kingston which now houses the GAWU head office? Why have they sold Herdmanston House, the annex of which was appropriated by the Ministry of Agriculture? It is widely suspected that the real reason for wanting to move the Head Office to Albion is to allow someone to purchase the Ogle compound just as someone bought the Diamond and Leonora compounds. The relocation of the Head Office will be a failure, as was the decision to build the new factory. GuySuCo is already in deep trouble and a removal of the Head Office at this time will put it in deeper trouble through the immediate and rapid loss of skills which are not readily available in Berbice.

Personality profiles including the qualifications, experience and track record of all the persons who have been placed in senior positions in the new structure should be made available.

Lastly, why have they chopped up the land in the GuySuCo scheme at Turkeyen which was allocated for a playfield, and made it into house lots for a selected few? The chopping up of the playfield is contrary to the requirements of the Central Housing and Planning Authority.

GuySuCo’s real problem is not yields, attendance and rainfall, and the new factory at Skeldon. The real problem is how they manage and treat their employees, from managers to cane-cutters. Guy-SuCo’s problem is a people problem, ie, how they employ and promote employees and managers.

It is time that the media do something to stop GuySuCo from going under, because if GuySuCo closes, the entire economy will be in peril. The PPP/C apologists should try to analyse the writings of Christopher Ram, Professor Thomas, Freddy Kissoon and other patriotic Guyanese rather than making cheap political statements.

Yours faithfully,
Norris Witter
General Workers Union