The management of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) must be strengthened to improve the outcome of the sector, according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.
At a news conference last Monday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Jagdeo stopped short of a providing a definite answer on whether government is satisfied with the performance of Chief Executive Officer Sasenarine Singh at helm of the corporation.
Speaking from an investment standpoint, Jagdeo said the style of management has to be strengthened as government is looking at a strategic shift in some areas of the company.
“Clearly, whether the CEO stays or not, we have to strengthen management and outcome and investments and we are looking now to bring great private involvement in the sector. We are looking also at some strategic shifts in some of the areas,” Jagdeo said in response to the question.
Singh, who was appointed CEO just over a year has been facing heavy criticism for his style of management and leadership of the industry. He has maintained in the past that he is open to constructive criticism.
According to the Vice President over the last several months he had little interaction with the management of the corporation.
Singh, a financial analyst, replaced Harold Davis Jr. Singh is a Project Finance Specialist with over 16 years’ experience at turnaround management internationally and possesses leadership experience at building capacity in teams. He holds a Master’s Degree in Finance from Lancaster University, an Executive Post Graduate Diploma from the London Business School, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy from the University of Guyana. He is also a Chartered Accountant.
Earlier this year, point person for the government’s resuscitation plan for the Skeldon sugar estate, Vishnu Panday, said he resigned as he was unable to work with Singh.
With the two having differing views of the industry, Panday told Stabroek News, he could not continue to work to fulfill President Irfaan Ali’s vision under the leadership of Singh. He deemed Singh as a “misfit in the corporation” and opined that Singh “does not possess the… ability to manage a dynamic industry.”
Singh had declined to comment on Panday’s statements when contacted by Stabroek News.
“I have tried for months to work under his leadership but it hasn’t improved. I held on hoping things will change but that didn’t happen, so I decided to walk,” Panday had related in an interview with this newspaper.
In its manifesto for the 2020 general elections, the PPP/C vowed to reopen three of the four estates shuttered by the APNU+AFC government: East Demerara, Rose Hall, and Skeldon. It has also announced a development plan for the former Wales estate where the factory had been dismantled.
GuySuCo has been a huge financial drag on the economy for the last two administrations, particularly as it relates to the troubled Chinese-built Skeldon factory, which drove up the cost of production enormously. GuySuCo has lost the majority of its preferential priced markets which means that it has to target the CARICOM market and value-added production.
