Eyes 400,000 tonnes per annum
An interim board set up to steer the local sugar industry as it struggles to recover from a tough year and braces for imminent price cuts from Europe, is expected to be in place within the next few weeks President Bharrat Jagdeo has said.
President Bharrat Jagdeo
Jagdeo referred to the work of the soon to be initiated team as a “turn around plan” while underscoring the need for industry stakeholders to provide significant input into the new strategy, which he said, will aim at cutting expenditure. He emphasized the need for new managers at the helm of the sugar industry.
Jagdeo made this disclosure at his first media briefing for the year held at the Office of the President yesterday, when he also pointed out that he personally held talks with the sugar company and stakeholders such as the union to discuss what was happening at the time. Further to the discussions, he said Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud has consistently pointed out the problems at GuySuCo in writing to him.
He noted that sugar production sank catastrophically last year, declaring that the board and management at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) should have responded better to the crisis since the signs were there. According to the President, his concern had reached the stage where he had even approached the banks and asked for loans to build infrastructure in the sector while agreeing to waive the corporate tax on the returns.
He emphasized that sugar production must ultimately reach 400,000 tonnes, as it is the target should the new factory at Skeldon become operational.
Jagdeo alluded to the factory being non-operational at the start of the new crop season by asserting that his government will not take over a factory that is not functional, and he charged that the Chinese must fix it.
“It’s a turn-key contract and the Chinese have to fix it and the company has already started to institute delay damages which is part of the agreement, and this amounts to around US $5.2M”, he said.
Previously Jagdeo had announced that changes would have been made at GuySuCo in the new year, declaring at the time that the company has significant management issues that have impacted on the current state of the industry.
GuySuCo had admitted that several factors have contributed to a very poor year in 2008 for the company resulting in its lowest production level for many years, but it affirmed that the situation has not deteriorated to the point where it has to turn to the government for funding.
I wonder is the banned reporter was there
It’s only a matter of time until things fall appart within guysuco.
The head of the New York based A.C.G (Association of Concerned Guyanese)the political arm of the P.P.P in Richmond Hill,Quesns is one of the members of the board of Guysuco,it really baffles me how this board member lives in New Jersey,head the A.C.G in Queens and sit on the board of Guysuco at the same time.
… many still in the upper levels of management at GUYSUCO were put there bcos of their “party card” combine that with the subtlety of “destablisation” and the inability of the current agri boss with his “mba” to understand the basic of farming ,, is a potent cocktail for diaster ! the evidence of which is coming out at the seams of the industry !…
and the stupidity continues…..
Guysuco,s operation, sugar production, is by far the most complex and difficult Agro / industrial organisation to manage in this country… and so far.. its survival was dependant on a highly trained, experienced Management Staff that saw it through the debilitating; years under Burnhams rule.. Mr. Harold Davis, THE CHAIRMAN,was an exemplary professional, .. who molded a team of generally A-POLITICAL,. trained professionals around him, and held the industry afloat… when all the Caribbean, and other hemispheric Sugar companies were failing… ie Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, st.Kitts etc,. even the ‘great Castro’ couldn’t save the cuban industry from collapse; ( they went from producing 3 million tons sugar to around 1.5 today… subject to corr.).. Mr. Davis remains in my book, ‘A giant among men’… unfortunately, when the PPP / GAWU CAME TO POWER, they thought, looking from out side; that the Jobs were ‘Cushy, and that the Managers were having it too good; BIG MISTAKE; they proceeded, to hastily replace professionals with, the party comrades… the direction was obvious and the consequences predictable… so here we are… no Jugling around of the present group of Personnel will correct the ‘ malfunction,… The admin. will have to encourage some of the overseas boys to return..don’t know if they could… .The Industry will Lurch along for a while, because the workers are still the most productive, and hard working persons in Guy. today, born into a culture of sugar and what it demands… But,until the bottom house committees are stopped from deciding, who the Next Manager should be… the road could lead steadily downhill…personally, I would really regret such a prognosis to prevail…