When one reads the presentation made by the Hon. Minister of Agriculture to the Economic Services Committee of Parliament in July 2008, one is left to wonder, how the Jagdeo regime could have gotten it so wrong less than two years after. He stated in that presentation that sugar production in 2010 would have been 367,453 tonnes; reality – it is now projected at 280,000 tonnes.
Guysuco now has a Turn Around Plan (the PLAN). However, the implementation of the PLAN will remain a challenge unless, the Government carefully supports Dr Gopaul and Mr Hanoman with skilled strategists and technicians who are resolutely focused on cutting cost in-line with the current revenue stream. The biggest blunder they can make at this point in time is to have chair warmers on the Board. The likes of Keith Burrowes have proven their worth. I also suspect Yog Mahadeo, the GAWU financial consultant is a deserving candidate but I reserve my wrath for one Geeta Knight from that failed insurance company. This decision to appoint Ms Knight clearly demonstrates that commercial decisions are continually tempered by loyalty to friends and family at the expense of an industry and its beneficiaries. This is one of the reasons why Guysuco suffered in the first place and it continues to the detriment of the working class.
The Hon. Minister of Finance stated in his 2010 budget on page 6 that “sugar production amounted to 233,736 tonnes, an increase of 3.3 percent over the previous year.” He spoke about the inclement weather, but that is a given in Guyana or Dominican Republic or anywhere else. If the weather remains unpredictable for the next 10 years (more than likely with global warming), is the Government of Guyana going to lie down and roll over and use the weather as their excuse for being mediocre? Why do some politicians always blame an “Act of God” for their own shortcomings? One of the greatest things I have learnt from living in a developed country is that bad weather is not a reason for not delivering your objectives.
Guysuco’s target for 2009 was 57,000 tonnes below the original numbers and this cannot be blamed on the weather exclusively. The Hon Minister of Agriculture has stated that the “opportunity days in the industry have contracted from 125 to 60 days”, so what do we do with this fact? Sit on it! No. In those 60 days, we work in shifts or we increase the work force accordingly to ensure that the efficiency rate rises as close as possible to 100%. We have options. Why not put the jail birds to work on the estate for those 60 days (not cutting the cane with cutlasses but loading the cane where there is no mechanisation so that the cane cutter can focus on cutting more cane), why can’t we import a small amount of workers from Venezuela for those 60 days to support the workforce shortage that we face in Guyana or even get members of the Army to do short stints in the fields to support their stamina and physical development. Something must be done to ensure that those 60 opportunity days are worked to their fullest regardless of strikes, or regardless of labour shortage since all the ripe cane must be reaped and delivered to the factory in a timely fashion.
Guysuco should be squeezing all the juice out of that 60 opportunity days rather than extending the reaping and milling into the rainy season, causing a predictable decrease in yield and considerable damage to agricultural machinery. A loss of sucrose content found in the cane and a decline in sugar quality also happens due to protracted delivery schedules as well as stoppages at the mills. Additionally, considerable mechanical problems during the following harvesting season are exacerbated by maintenance delays. The politically-driven Jagdeo boys set goals for sugarcane cultivation, with little consideration for the production issues and thus institutionalizing inefficiencies that continue to plague the sugar industry.
On a personal note, I call on the workers to take a sabbatical from striking in 2010 to save this industry since it is on the brink even though it is clear this Jagdeo regime is taking advantage of them. Change is on the way. I truly empathise with the sugar workers and understand their frustration at not being beneficiaries of a fair compensation package. In 2009, the sugar workers got 3% increase in salary and had to deliver before they get their performance incentive (bonus) while at the same time the Army got 6% and an un-targeted bonus. Where is the fairness?
Guysuco is also plagued with bad habits perpetuated by ineffective planting methods, inadequate planting schedules, inappropriate harvesting schedules, and the inability of the industry to use over-the-counter technology to improve its yield. The bottom-line is; the inefficiencies that beleaguered Guysuco are not systemic, but rather the result of fixable practices, obsolete infrastructure, and a lack of adequate investment on the other estates (save and except Skeldon). There is no reason why a sugar and ethanol industry wouldn’t be profitable in Guyana once tried and tested technology are utilised to cut cost and world-class cultivation and refining techniques are adopted. We have friends in Brazil and Cuba and thus it baffles me why we are where we are with sugar and sugar technologies? Does the Jagdeo regime have the foresight and political will to use the available technology and do the right things to truly modernize not only the sugar industry but more importantly develop the associated ethanol industries to take advantage of the unique global opportunities?
The budget gets worse for the working class in the sugar industry since the Jagdeo government refuses to take responsibility for the mess in the sugar industry but chooses instead to blame the EU. On page 8 of the Budget speech, the Hon. Minister of Finance talks about how the “volume of sugar exported increased by 3.4 percent to 212,131 tonnes, but the average export price declined by 13.1 percent” as a result of the EU price reduction. Why blame the EU for this loss of income? The last time I checked, the Government of Guyana was aware more than 12 year ago that the EU was cutting prices and the pertinent question is, have we done enough in a timely manner to mitigate this issue? The answer is clearly no. The Skeldon sugar factory should have been completed 4 years ago, not in 2010. So the truth is the export receipts from sugar declined by 10.2 percent to US$119.8 million because the Jagdeo regime was too slothful in implementing the Sugar Action Plan.
On page 17 of the Budget Speech, the Hon. Minister talked about “the implementation of Guysuco’s turnaround plan” in 2010 which is expected to result in further significant “improvements in land preparation and land use, rationalisation of factories, acceleration of mechanisation, improvement of cane yields, more timely execution of the capital investment programme and increased production.” However, the operative words here are “timely execution” and this is the deceptio visus of the Jagdeo regime, their optical illusion. When it comes to actioning the words, this is where they fail greatest. The Jagdeo government literally outsourced the building of the Skeldon factory to the Booker Tate Team and had inadequate oversight of this Project by locals so by the time the Minister of Agriculture got the wind of the disorder; it was very late in the Project Cycle. This has now placed Guyana in the unenviable position of having a problem plagued newly built factory. I trust that a team of Guyanese will be fully trained to run and maintain this factory when with divine intervention; it is up and running successfully.
Guysuco cannot turnaround with whim and whip, it require skilled strategists and technicians to get the job done. The Hon Minister of Finance is hopeful that the PLAN will “overcome the challenges” to our national advantage. I want to be hopeful too but I remain unconvinced as to why the Jagdeo regime has shelved the Canje Basin Project for the production of ethanol canes along with an ethanol plant. This project was conceived to unleash the emerging opportunities being driven by the market place. See what I mean Dr. Randy Persaud, this budget is a collection of words but whether it is backed by substance is another kettle of fish. Coming soon part 3 of my interrogation of this “dudget”.
Yours faithfully,
Sasenarine Singh
