Dear Editor,
I note that two letter writers have already responded to Donald Ramotar’s recent letter on aspects of the sugar industry, albeit not too kindly, since his opinions are at variance with the facts. As such, I shall only address the unsubstantiated opinions he expressed about my involvement.
Donald explicitly debunked my claim and stated that the Plan for a refined sugar factory was never changed. As a senior member of the Board (1993-2011), can he then explain how come a raw sugar factory was commissioned to great public fanfare in August 2009? Did Booker Tate, the Project Managers, hoodwink the Board of Directors? My original query as to who changed the specifications from a refined to a raw sugar factory, still stands.
Re Booker Tate, Donald was present at a meeting of senior Party members in 1996 when I presented a case for the non-renewal of their contract. In addition, he participated in Board meetings when I led several challenges to their modus operandi and recruitment protocols. He should remember too that during my tenure their staff numbers were reduced from 30 in 1993 to 3 by 2003, while GuySuCo achieved its highest production in history for 8 factories (332,000 tons) at that time. Senior staff and workers morale was at a pinnacle and we were well on our way to achieving the 450,000 tons target outlined in our Strategic Plan. Donald should explain why he allowed increased numbers of Booker Tate staff to return after I left office and why he allowed the dismissal of a number of senior local managers. The results are well known.
Re the Coalition Government, the one interaction that I had was when I accompanied a PSC representative to meet with their Minister of Agriculture and the then GuySuCo CEO on the state of the industry. That meeting was a thorough waste of time, since it was clear that they were not going to change their hopeless and hapless approach. During that period also, I did speak at a public session at Moray House at which I strongly advocated against the closure of Wales Estate. This presentation was carried in Stabroek News.
As a person who was integrally involved in the sugar industry, former President Ramotar should stick to facts as opposed to expressing unsubstantiated opinions.
Yours faithfully,
Vic Oditt
