This week we asked members of the public to share their views on the government’s announcement of plans to close the Wales estate by the end of the year. Their comments follow:
Photos and interviews by Shabna Rahman
George Lewis, pork-knocker/farmer,
`To me the Wales estate is not a problem; it is the people. Some of them have their work to do but they are not doing it but they are collecting their money. People think that the estate would close because the government change but that is not the case. I think the government should continue running the estate because people have to live.’
Nalini Ramkissoon, businesswoman,
‘It would be hard for people to survive if the Wales estate is closed. A lot of people from Vreed-en-Hoop and the West Bank Demerara are employed at the estate and they would be out of jobs. If the government opens livestock ventures they talked about it would be good. But I want to know if they did a feasibility study to know if it is sustainable and if the people would get jobs. Businesses also depend on the estate’s operation and during the out-of-crop season, we hardly get sale. Customers who used to buy 10 yards of vinyl are now buying three and those who bought 30 yards are now purchasing 10. If people don’t have money, how would they buy? I got some sale today [Saturday] because of Valentine’s Day. Other than that, the place is like a ghost town. We are not seeing the normal shoppers from the West Bank area.’
Lennox Albert, businessman,
‘I think that if they plan to close at year-end they should have notified the people much earlier and have discussions with the union and GuySuCo. They should have come to some compromise about what alternative they have for the workers whose families would be affected. They promised to send the workers to Uitvlugt but that would be tough. Also it would be difficult for the cane farmers to pull the cane to that distance and it would not be too feasible. They have to come to some decision with the farmers. The issue there with the estate has already started to affect businesses in the Vreed-en-Hoop area. We would have to see what would happen especially in the Wales area.’
Telsa Solomon, vendor,
‘It would be really hard if they close the estate. When people see smoke at the estate they know that cane is grinding and money would circulate. But now they are planning to close it and I don’t know how people are going to make it; how would they earn a livelihood. They don’t have proper education and they cannot go and seek jobs anywhere. The government should give it a thought and don’t close the estate. Or they should look at opening up other jobs. If not, a lot of thieving would pass.’
Kunta Kenta, graphic artist,
‘These people are not telling the government the right thing. Half of the people at the estate are at home and getting paid. GuySuCo told the president that to continue running the estate they would have to spend a lot of money but they cannot do that because the amount is too much. So the workers can either go to Uitvlugt or take the severance benefits.’
Gilbert Hernandez, caregiver,
‘It is not the people in the government, especially the Prime Minister, who would suffer, they have money, they got 50% increase the other day. It’s the poor people who would continue to punish. They have to find food and send their children to school. The government shouldn’t close the estate. They were supposed to come and speak to the people. They said the PPP was thieving the money but now they are wasting it. They don’t need to spend $300M for this year’s Independence celebration. Where is the money that they budget for GuySuCo? They should use some of that to fix the estate. I don’t know what is going on in this country. They would make people run and leave it.’
Shameer Samad, former GuySuCo employee/security guard,
‘I don’t think they should close the estate; it is the breadbasket in the area. It would result in a lot of stealing because people would be out of employment. I think they should think it over and let the work at the estate go on. The fault is not in the factory; it’s in the field and they need to look into that area. I have 31 years service at Wales estate and I can tell you that the right amount chemical and fertiliser is not being applied to the cane. They need to look at the workers, starting from the supervisors and foreman.’
Sanjay Lakeram, taxi driver,
‘I born and grow up at Wales and the job that I am doing gives me the privilege of speaking to a lot of people who share different views about the estate and the Commission of Inquiry that was held. The arguments put forward by the government are not valid. They said the estate is old but so many parts were changed. All the estates are old and they can find parts. They weren’t built to work for 100 years they were built to work hundreds of years. To keep the estate afloat they have to spend $1.6B but they don’t have to find it at one time. GuySuCo should stop using ‘ripener’ on the cane – to force it to ripe faster. This is killing the cane. Another thing is that some of the men are going to the backdam but they are not doing any kind of work. They need to pull themselves together. How can we have progress? Closing the Wales estate would have a triple effect. A lot of people depend on it and would be out of jobs and businesses. Thousands would be affected directly and indirectly.’
Kumar Gansham, taxi driver,
‘Closing the estate would throw people out of jobs and businesses. They should keep it open or if they cannot handle it then give it to private owners. Plenty poor people would suffer. In this way they would have to import sugar when it is cheaper to produce here. I have relatives who work for a long time at the estate and who supply cane there. Everybody would be affected. The government is being given wrong information about the estate and they need to come and investigate more.’
Ganesh Bhagoo, fisherman,
‘Closing the Wales estate would be bad for the economy, not just for the people in the Wales area. What would happen to the poor people? If they don’t have jobs, how would they survive? If the government can find jobs for everyone then they can close the estate.’
Prakash Mahadeo, taxi driver,
‘I don’t think it is fair what they are doing because they would put a lot of workers out of jobs. There’s no way they should close because a lot of people depend on the estate, including the taxi drivers and businesspeople. Closing the estate is a slap in the face of the people who thought things would improve under the new administration. Wales estate is a profitable entity but what the government needs to do it tighten up the loopholes. Many times millions of dollars are plugged into the estate but the money is not reaching to the right project. Wales is at a dead end and there is no other business to take off the workers. The cane farmers amount to 100 alone. The new government, which is just nine months old needs to give itself a try.’