There has been a series of opinions for and against the closure of the Wales Sugar Estate. The PPP led a visceral opposition to the closure, but subsequently after some public enquiry to show an alternative vision, Mr Jagdeo proposed an accounting framework that involves converting debt into equity. It was noted in previous columns that the industry faces economic challenges that accounting will not solve.
The forces of globalization present a threat to the existence of bulk sugar processing in Guyana. For about 300 years sugar production survived through slave labour, wage suppression under indentureship, estate amalgamation, the lobbying power of the planters