Dear Editor,
A number of sugar industry matters need explaining. Knowledgeable, official comments would be welcome.
— The most worrying matter is the fate of the thousands of sugar workers laid off their jobs. In any national budget the sum of their misery weighs heavily on the debit side.
— What exactly are the numbers laid off, estate by estate, how many have been paid severance, what is the total sum paid?
— Has any sort of social audit been done to see how the laid off workers have responded to their plight: how many have found alternative employment, how many have been re-trained, how many have been given land to cultivate, how many have migrated externally or internally, how are they and their families coping ?
— In the case of the closed estates, has the hand-over of responsibility for the maintenance of drainage and irrigation been smooth? Are the absolutely essential operational and repair of infrastructure routines being effectively administered?
— Production this year, it is reported, will be about 103,000 tonnes. Sadly, this is the lowest figure for Guyana since 1929. We need to have not just the production figures but also the productivity figures — tonnes of cane per acre or hectare, tonnes of cane to make a tonne of sugar — so that we can really judge performance and potential for improvement.
— How has the sugar been marketed: domestic consumption, regional sales, US quota (I assume), other ? It is important to know if we are obtaining an advantageous price for sugar sold in the region as catered for by Caricom tariff arrangements.
— To what extent are the molasses requirements of DDL being met as it seeks to expand its highly successful export business ?
— Is the Port Mourant Apprentice Training Centre still being operated by Guysuco ? If not, what is being done to maintain it as an outstanding, internationally recognised facility for turning out skilled operators for our industrial development?
Finally, I am almost too embarrassed to ask, when is someone in authority going to deal decisively with the farcical tug-of-war between Guysuco and the Special Purpose Unit?
Yours faithfully,
Ian McDonald