A recommendation on the brand of tractor to be procured by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) was disregarded in favour of another type that has never before been utilized by the industry here.
The recommendation was based on a report submitted to GuySuCo’s Board of Directors. GuySuCo is looking to procure six 195HP articulated agricultural tractors.
The report, seen by this newspaper, revealed that recommendations were made for the purchase of John Deere brand tractors only, as this brand was cost effective and cheaper to operate. A section of the Board of Directors advised against the purchasing of the GAME brand of tractors based on findings that were submitted, and which formed part of the report. A source familiar with the tractor procurement explained that the issue was discussed at Cabinet and Cabinet’s No Objection was given to GuySuCo to proceed with the GAME purchase. GAME is a tractor manufacturer based in Louisiana, USA. Stabroek News’ efforts to solicit a justification on the procurement were in vain. Efforts to contact both Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, and GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer, Sasenarine Singh, were futile.
The report seen by Stabroek News stated that while both tractor brands, GAME and John Deere, do the same work, John Deere’s utilises approximately eight gallons less fuel and completes its task 19 minutes quicker than the other brand. The report stated that caution must be exercised when transferring technology and agricultural practices since sugar cane cultivation methods in Guyana are unique to this terrain. Having reviewed and analysed the performance of the two brands of tractors, the report pointed out that the “fixed frame tractor completed the operation in less time (11 percent) than the articulated tractor using 20 percent less fuel. Therefore the Fixed Frame is superior in performance than the articulated and this was not reflected in the productivity comparison.” It is on this evidence that the Board was told, “The recommendation to purchase articulated tractors was not based on the performance evaluation or test results, but rather on the same information provided in 2020 and 2021 justifications. This is very misleading since it does not reflect the correct analysis and should be investigated.”
GuySuCo’s Board of Directors had sanctioned the Final Report given that members were not satisfied with the initial report for the procurement. According to the report “the empirical data in the test results revealed that the John Deere is a better tractor than the articulated tractor when working under the same condition. Therefore the recommendation is to use John Deere tractor rather than articulated tractor since it is capable of carrying out all the operations in the tillage/mechanization process. It is also cheaper and more versatile than the articulated tractor.” In its conclusion, GuySuCo’s board was advised that procurement of articulated tractors should be put on hold until further investigation is done especially since the corporation is on the verge of procuring GAME X articulated tractors for leveling. “These are very costly and John Deere should be consulted before any procurement is done since the company also manufactures heavy duty horse power tractors,” the report said.
GuySuCo on Friday last signed nine contracts valued at $200M for the procurement of six tractors for the Rose Hall and Blairmont sugar estates. During the signing it was noted that the procurement was intended to fast-track the government’s efforts to have both facilities resume production as soon as possible. A source told Stabroek News that questions must be asked on the purchase of the particular brand since it is not presently being used in Guyana. Two critical questions are: what justification was used by Cabinet to give its no objection to procuring the GAME brand tractors, and secondly, justification for such a costly procurement by an underperforming company.
