The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has saluted the contributions made by the late former Chairman of the GuySuCo board Harold Davis, recalling that he gave his expertise to the sugar sector during uncertain periods in the nation’s history.
Davis is qualified to be called “a servant of sugar” as he devoted a substantial portion of his career and expertise to the administration and management of the local sugar industry and sector during the precarious periods of pre-Independence and post-nationalization, GAWU said in a press release.
Steeped in the Bookers Sugar Estates era since 1959, Davis brought all of his experience to bear when the then government invited him to become the first Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) in 1976.
Despite GAWU’s struggles for recognition, its fight with respect to the sugar levy and other governmental approaches to the industry then, including the sector’s labour force, the union can easily imagine the challenges Davis encountered as the first and new head of a nationalised industry of that magnitude.
“That the industry survived them as one who, reportedly, shunned overt political intrusion and direction, Mr Davis’ stewardship must have contributed to that vital economic success,” GAWU said.
The union further notes Davis’s contribution to the national welfare which includes his contribution of time, skills and experience to the University of Guyana, the insurance sector, the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre and the rotary service institutions, among other pursuits.
“He had been appropriately awarded the Cacique Crown of Honour,” GAWU said, adding that it salutes his contributions to the nation. The union extends condolences to Davis’s wife and relatives, in the wake of his passing on August 21.
