In the face of continued criticism of government’s decision to close the Wales sugar estate, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder on Wednesday defended the move as the beginning of a process to resuscitate the industry and he assured that plans would be put in place to cushion the impact.
“The financial woes of sugar are so grave, the needs of the economy are so great, that the transformation of sugar cannot be done gradually. Time is of the essence. The process has to start immediately and while there will be some initial redundancies, opportunities for reemployment will be created in a relatively short period of time,” Holder said in his contribution to the budget debate in the National Assembly.
He was unable to complete his speech since his allotted time ran out but he noted in his address that government is committed to securing the future of the 17,000 people employ-ed in the sugar industry and their dependents.
“This cannot be done by sustaining the industry in its present shape. To maintain the status quo would spell disaster for the industry and its employees sooner than most people think. The future lies in an industry that is more than sugar,” he said.
Describing the closure of the Wales estate as the beginning of this process, Holder said that he was unable to comprehend the attitude of the opposition PPP/C and the main workers union, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU).
“They had 23 years to reverse the fortunes of the estates but did nothing except take them further into depression. Their present reaction and utterances are from the same old mould… To date, neither has offered an alternative, sensible, constructive solution,” he said, while adding that doing nothing is not an option for government.
Holder stressed that the ministry is committed to the 1,700 workers and 774 private farmers who supply Wales and he then proceeded to roll out the plans for the merger of the West Demerara estates and the conversion of the Wales lands into a “profitable non-sugar enterprise.”
He informed that an aquaculture feasibility study will soon begin. He explained that preliminary indications are that professionally-undertaken aquaculture would be a major profit generator and would provide reasonable employment.
Holder said too that feasibility studies will shortly commence on other crops, since work already done indicates that a number of well-known crops can be successfully grown on the Wales soils.
Another plan, he said, is the establishment of a dairy/livestock business utilising in due course the existing factory building. Holder spoke of an all-weather road to be developed connecting the Wales farmers to the Uitvlugt factory. Those farmers who currently rely on punt transport would have their lands replaced with cane lands more conducive to road transport, he said, while adding that ancestral lands will be retained by the farmers/community.
GuySuCo, he further noted, has commenced discussions with workers at Wales and is offering them alternative employment at Wales and at Uitvlugt, thereby minimising the anticipated redundancies at this time.
According to Holder, it is expected that the number of redundancies at the end of the year would be lower than anticipated as the non-sugar activities would require skilled and unskill-ed labour, while vacancies arising at Uitvlugt in the course of the year will only be filled by workers from Wales.
He said that another plan would be to encourage workers to become farmers, with extension services provided by GuySuCo.
‘Haste’
However, PPP/C MP and GAWU Head Komal Chand used most of his allotted time to blast government for the closure, while saying the decision was taken in the absence of a “credible” study.
If carefully examined, Chand said, it would be found that the Wales estate is in no better condition than the other factories, with the exception of Skeldon.
“It is a decision that even the Sugar Commis-sion of Inquiry did not recommend. The haste with which the unpopular decision has been taken makes one wonder if there is more in the mortar than the pestle,” he said.
Chand noted that the reasons given for the closure are “clearly overstated” and do not reflect the improvements that have been done recently both in the field and factory.
“I refer to these updates about the Wales factory to show that the so called age argument cannot really be a serious or strong reason for the arbitrary shutting down of Wales estate,” he noted.
Chand accused government of fooling persons, during the elections campaign period, into believing that the sugar industry will be maintained. “Clo-sure was not mentioned at any time. Yet in a mere matter of months after the national elections, we are faced with this painful prospect of closure, which puts hundred on the breadline,” he charged.
Stressing that the consequences of the closure will be grave, he told the House that there will be major implications for workers and their families in particular.
He said that the transporting of cane to the Uitvlugt estate is an added burden.
“If the authorities persist with the closure, then we stand to lose not less than 20,000 tonnes of sugar at this moment, which cannot be good for our economy at this time nor in the near future,” he said.
He said that GuySuCo chairman Professor Clive Thomas’s suggestion of lands being given to displaced workers to cultivate cane and other crops requires study. He later urged that all plans be shared with the workers, their unions, the House and the public without delay.
