The Guyana Rice Develop-ment Board (GRDB) yesterday announced it would support legal action against the Mahaicony Rice Mills Ltd (MRL), after some cheque payments to farmers for their first crop were not honoured at the bank.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Board said 18 farmers who turned up at a bank at Rose Hall, Corentyne, were told that only one payment would be made to them, although they had several cheques. The total value of the cheques not honoured was $26.3M. One farmer had 29 cheques in his possession which could not be cashed. “Wrong cannot be right and the MRL will be treated as provided for under the law regardless of its size,” the Board statement said, noting that in addition to supporting farmers who seek legal action it is also considering various other options to ensure the company fulfils its obligations.
The Board also noted that its previous attempts to protect farmers have been met by court challenges and it cited action by MRL in June after farmers complained that they had not received full payments for paddy. In this context, it called a new legal suit by MRL, claiming loss of income in that case, as a pre-emptive move to frustrate the Board’s actions. “The GRDB will maintain at all time a high degree of professionalism in executing its function and MRL as the largest single operator in the industry is not above the law and will be treated as any other operator in the industry,” it said.
