Shaik Baksh is not the man to chair GuySuCo’s board

Dear Editor,

It has been announced that Mr Shaik Baksh, formerly Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Water Inc (GWI), has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Guyana’s largest industry, based on the number of its employees.

This sad and discordant news has come at a critical juncture for the industry, particularly at a time when it is heavily indebted, unproductive and in a downward spiral. Those familiar with GuySuCo had expected that the appointment of a new chairman and members would have had the effect of bringing unique and innovative policies to resurrect a dying industry and hopefully turn it around.

Unfortunately the government has seen fit to appoint its party faithful who have had little or no experience in the sugar industry or management competency to turn around this vital industry. Ms Geeta Singh-Knight was deeply involved with the Clico debacle and served on the previously failed GuySuCo Board. Mr Komal Chand of GAWU realized that he cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, so he declined to serve on the new Board.

Mr Baksh was Housing and Water Minister from 1998 to 2006. It is claimed that during this period he revolutionized housing development in Guyana. The facts however suggest otherwise, as during his tenure he oversaw housing construction at Diamond/Grove, Tuschen, Parfait/La Harmonie and elsewhere without any meaningful planned provision for infrastructure such as roads, drainage, water, electricity and recreational facilities to serve these areas. The residents could attest to this, because what he did was revolutionized haphazard rural development, the consequences of which they are now suffering.

In 2006 he was appointed Education Minister. The Guyana Times reported that during his tenure there were marked improvement in students’ performance, teacher reform and greater hands-on management at the ministry. However, those familiar with his performance would attest otherwise, as he oversaw schools crumbling for lack of timely repairs, teachers performing poorly because of inadequate training and students’ scores tumbling. As a result of this poor performance he was demoted by the ruling PPP and shunted off to a less demanding post – that of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GWI.

As CEO of GWI, Mr Baksh has made no significant improvement to the operations of this corporation. The water supply in Georgetown is still not potable as the so called treated water is piped with a high concentration of organic matter unfit to drink. Recommended improvements to the water treatment plant at Shelter Belt are still to be implemented while its sludge continues to be dumped with impunity into Church and Irving Streets Canals, clogging the city’s drainage system.

It is therefore difficult to comprehend how Mr Baksh who has been a failed performer could be entrusted to manage Guyana’s largest industry and resuscitate its fortunes. The most important problem facing sugar is harvesting the crop, which can only be done manually and/or mechanically. Cane-cutters are a dying breed as it is an employment of last resort. It’s a dirty, back-breaking job which no sane person in the 21st century would want to do. Therefore the labour force employed in cane harvesting is diminishing fast, and those involved know this as they clamour for ever higher wages making the industry a high cost producer. Harvesting cane by machinery in Guyana would involve the costly acquisition of equipment and conversion of the fields to accommodate them. GuySuCo with its present indebtedness cannot make these conversions since the price for sugar now and in the foreseeable future does not allow for this costly investment. Its recent experiment with this conversion clearly indicates this. It was expected that an enlightened GuySuCo Board would be able stem the decline of the industry while alternatives are considered and implemented. Sugar production in Brazil the world’s largest producer is declining, and there is no reason to believe that there will be a turnaround of the industry in Guyana given its low productivity and inefficiency at all levels of its operation. Talks of expansion of value-added production and diversified target markets are pipe dreams,

as GuySuCo struggles to resolve bigger issues and fights for its survival. Those serving the industry should take notice of these developments and start heading for the hills before it’s too late. The PPP government has sounded GuySuCo’s knell.

Yours faithfully,

Charles Sohan