Reiterating its call for a reversal of the decision to shut the Wales estate, the main sugar union GAWU says recent statements by the Minister of Agriculture and the Chairman of GuySuCo show that no firm plans are yet in place for the period following closure.
In a statement yesterday, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) said that Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder in his contribution to the 2016 Budget Debate had said that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Government were examining aquaculture, crop farming and dairy and livestock as ventures which would begin at Wales after the closure of the estate. GAWU pointed out that shortly prior to the Minister’s revelations, GuySuCo’s Chairman, Dr Clive Thomas in his column in the February 07, 2016 edition of the Sunday Stabroek said that the Corporation was examining getting into the production of alcohol and providing lands to workers for them to engage in farming. GAWU said that the views from these two authoritative persons vary somewhat and more significantly they give credence to the widely-held view that the decision to close Wales Estate was hurriedly made and not well thought-out.
“What one gathers from these revelations is that there are no credible plans at this time and that presently the relevant studies are now being undertaken. It is numbing to realize that GuySuCo’s Board Chairman and the Minister of Agriculture could have pursued a decision that would put at risk the livelihoods of thousands of our working people without the necessary critical investigation done”, GAWU charged.
It asked what would be the position if it turns out that the identified ventures are not viable.
“Such a question is even more appropriate if we recall that GuySuCo in the not-too-distant past …experimented with similar ventures with discouraging results. There is a tendency to forget that projects while seemingly worthwhile on paper and in the boardrooms were found so often to be wanting in implementation and in practice”, GAWU said.
GAWU reiterated that the Wales sugar estate is capable of surmounting its present challenges. It noted that in its presentation to the Commission of Inquiry into GuySuCo it had said that the industry must be re-organised to firstly increase efficiency followed by sustained policies to engage stakeholders as well as modernisation to transition it from the concept of a “sugar” industry to a “sugar cane” industry in which the entire sugar cane plant is used to produce many other products besides sugar.
In announcing the closure of the estate, the government had said that Wales is by far the estate in poorest shape. It said that the details of its performance include:-
o 60% of its D&I infrastructure is run down;
o 75% of the bridges are in poor shape;
o The cultivation is also in poor condition;
* The factory is old and in need of major investment.
Some of these claims have since been challenged by Wales workers and others.
