Two former Chief Executive Officers of the Guyana Sugar Corporation were back at work at the state- owed company yesterday with Paul Bhim assuming his former role as Finance Director as part of the APNU+AFC government-initiated Interim Management Committee (IMC).
Stabroek News was informed that the government is likely to make an announcement today that Errol Hanoman
will assume the post of Chief Executive Officer, a position he previously held in 2009-2010.
Bhim was elevated after Hanoman’s departure until he was replaced by Dr Rajendra Singh in early 2014. Singh was sacked by the government on Wednesday.
Amidst a sugar crisis, the government is being hit with similar criticisms faced by the former People’s Progressive Party government as it relates to transparency and dissemination of public information.
Stabroek News was informed that both Bhim and Hanoman were told of the government’s intention to install an IMC and establish a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the sugar industry by the end of the month, late Tuesday evening. This followed a cabinet meeting where it was decided that GuySuCo’s $16b bailout request would be deferred.
Sources say that both men were being brought back because of their extensive knowledge of the sugar industry and the financial woes of the state-owned corporation. However the current administration would have heavily criticized both men previously for their inability to turn around the industry and lower the debt, which as of June last year rested at $58B.
This newspaper was informed that while Singh was fired on Wednesday and the entire Board of Directors yesterday, many within the corporation are looking for more dismissals in relation to the vast amount of technical advisors.
One source told Stabroek News that with the changes happening he did not feel comfortable providing his name as the new government was behaving similar to the previous government in terms of secrecy.
The source stated that GuySuCo’s technical advisors also needed to be looked into as Singh and board members would have been making decisions based on some information submitted by the technical departments.
The GuySuCo Board was being chaired by former PPP/C Minister Shaik Baksh. It also comprised of Dunstan Barrow, Chairman, Board of Directors, Linden Enterprise Network; Dr Dindyal Permaul, Chief Executive Officer, Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA); Keith Burrowes, Executive Chairman, Board of Directors, Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest); Badri Persaud, Managing Director, Guyana Oil (Guyoil); and Geeta Singh-Knight. Raj Singh is an ex-officio member.
Minister of State Joe Harmon spoke with Stabroek News yesterday stating that he was preparing to give a briefing on how the IMC will function. He did not confirm any appointments as it relates to other posts in the IMC and the resignation of the Board.
Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder had told Stabroek News that the dismissals were necessary. He said that the enormous amount of money the corporation recently requested, $16B, to avert an industry-wide shutdown was reflective of the poor management by both the CEO and the Board. He noted that in 2014 the corporation received a $6B bailout.
“We don’t believe these figures,” Holder had stated. He also said that the government wished to assure workers that they will be paid and that there will be no industry shutdown. The government’s planned COI is based on its Manifesto promise of what it intended to do within its first 100 days in office.
Meanwhile, the sugar unions, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union and the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees have remained silent on the recent turn of events. Stabroek News was told that union representatives continued meeting with workers on Wednesday and yesterday.
The cash-strapped GuySuCo in the last few days managed to secure $400M from the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica after the modification of a US$15M loan agreement.
