Dear Editor,
I have been following with keen interest arguments for and against the closure of the Wales sugar factory. It is my humble view that the decision taken by the current administration to close the factory is somewhat hasty if not precipitate. Moreover, it failed to take into consideration the socio-economic and cultural impact such a decision will have on the lives of the thousands who depend on the estate for their living.
I think the administration failed to adequately weigh the options available to turn the estate and by extension the entire sugar industry around to one of financial viability. Some useful suggestions were floated by former Chairman of GuySuCo Mr Vic Ouditt and others, that I think are worthy of further examination.
As a former employee of GuySuCo, I am aware of the numerous challenges faced by the industry, but I do believe that with some creativity and new out-of-the-box thinking on the part of policy-makers, the situation can be salvaged.
I recall during the early 1990s when I joined the sugar industry as Personnel Manager at LBI estate, the industry was in dire financial straits. The then Desmond Hoyte administration was on the verge of preparing the industry for privatisation and a management contract was entered into with Booker Tate to examine ways of returning the industry to profitability.
Sugar in 1990 had recorded its lowest production target of just about 127 000 tons. In fact sugar had to be imported at one time from Guatemala for domestic consumption in order to satisfy the EU quota and avoiding the risk of losing our share of the EU preferential market. With the new management contract in place and the possibility of losing the EU market looming, ways had to be found to save the industry from calamity.
And Booker Tate rose to the challenge and immediately put in place measures to revitalise the industry. Among the measures taken was a steep increase in wages and salaries which led to improved worker morale and a steady return of workers back to the industry, in particular field and factory workers. Other measures included the planting of new canes as opposed to the then practice of recycling ratoon canes. One consequence of that practice was extremely low tonne canes per acre and unacceptably high TC/TS (tonnes canes to tonnes sugar ratio). The factories which were operating at low levels of technical efficiency were rehabilitated and greater emphasis was put on research and development and marketing.
The net result of all those interventions was an almost doubling of production levels and a return to financial viability and profitability in just a matter of a few years of the management contract.
With the election of the PPP/C to office in 1992, the management contract was retained and privatisation of the industry was permanently shelved.
I thought of highlighting these facts in order to make the point that this is not the first time the sugar industry experienced a crisis situation and managed to overcome challenges with an injection of new and creative ideas.
I think the current situation demands the setting up of a broad-based think tank on how to turn the entire industry around rather than to focus only on the weakest production link as is the case currently. There is need to view the industry in a holistic and not a fragmented and disjointed manner. Linkages, both backward and forward needed to be closely examined including upstream operations such as the establishment of a sugar refinery, power generation and ethanol production, among others.
I do not think it is too late for the administration to reconsider its decision to close the Wales factory and in so doing save an entire community from an impending catastrophe.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
