Dear Editor,
Someone drew to my attention a strongly worded letter appearing in the Chronicle newspapers of Monday August 14, 2023 titled “Hamilton Green owes the nation an apology.” The letter was about the state of the sugar industry and defending the PPP’s role and criticizing PNC/AFC’s stewardship of the industry. The letter further referred to mine, published in the independent media in which I referred to GuySuCo’s administration gobbling up more billions by an industry that continues to be used as a political football by this administration. Emerson once said “truth is too simple for us: we do not like those who unmask our illusions.” What follows, briefly, is the truth and I hope that the state-controlled Chronicle has the journalistic decency to publish my letter in the same way that they published by Haseef Yusuf.
First, I was not a member of the Government when the decision was taken to effect changes in the sugar industry. However, as a concerned citizen I held the view then that the Granger Administration was making an attempt to correct historical flaws which characterized the previous management of the sugar industry. I will ignore the banality of the language used in Mr. Yusuf’s letter but reminds us all to provide the evidence to support his contention that during the period 2015 to 2020, the APNU through subventions, gave GuySuCo a total of 49.6 billion dollars. What I know is that the GuySuCo Board kept badgering the Coalition government to put millions of taxpayer’s money into the sugar industry. A business supposed to be run to make a profit and not be a burden on others.
Of interest are the following – in 2020 when the PPP returned to power, GuySuCo’s production was 88,868 tonnes but the 2022 total
production was only around 47,000 tonnes even after receiving massive subsidies. This decline was due to poor management, incompetence and likely corruption. Mr. Yusuf seems to be satisfied that simply saying that the estates will be reopened is enough but this is not supported by the response of the workers to take up employment. In fact, over the years, because of its failure to mechanize effectively, the corporation’s yield has been falling and the workforce declining.
Yes, Guyana owes much to sugar for its past contribution to the economy of this nation, but to keep the estate open and badly run with a dwindling workforce and no proper mechanization in place is foolhardy. It is wise that national ownership must benefit equally all of our citizens, whose ancestors worked as slaves and later, indentured laborers to produce enormous profits for the old colonial masters of this country. Any national entity which is draining the income taxes of the majority taxpayers in the country, i.e. the police, the army, teachers, nurses and doctors in the public sector, the civil and public servants, is a form of massive injustice. This year, to achieve the meagre first crop achievement of 16,200 tonnes, they were forced to harvest a total of 1,800 hectares of this second crop canes, i.e. they were reaping those cane-fields since they reaped this second crop cane during the first crop of this year. They are again reaping the 2024 first crop cane now, to achieve the 60,000 tonnes as promised by the Minister. It was advised that not more than about 45,000-50,000 tonnes will be produced this year.
Editor, we must forgive the PPP for their wanton waste of taxpayers’ money such as the $200 million plus squandered on the infamous Skeldon Estate venture and other misadventures in this industry. I hope they haven’t lost their senses, not to recognize the changes that have and are taking place in the sugar industry. When I held the portfolio of Vice President for production, I recognised that young persons’, born and growing up in the sugar estate environment, were beginning to shy away from the hard work in the hot sun associated with the harvesting of sugar cane. Strikes to demand cut and drop instead of cut and load typified the demand for less drudgery and many young men, long before our oil boom and the expansion of technical training, secured employment in the construction and other industries. Even when efforts were made to change the methods of tilling and harvesting, our soil conditions presented a challenge.
In Guyana, even though we still get two crops annually, we are technically talking of a single crop and the acreage of land has been substantially reduced. Many former sugarcane lands are now booming industrial and housing estates. The question is – is the PPP government willing to listen to the advice of the few remaining experts to give them good guidance or as it appears to be, the only advisors they are comfortable with are those who mount their political platform and or sycophants of the ruling elite. For the sake of the industry and for the sake of those who are true patriots, I hope and pray that wisdom to make good decisions, wisdom to make difficult choices, wisdom to be courageous and not pusillanimous will penetrate and save the industry and our country. This I believe is what our slave ancestors and those who came after Emancipation would wish to see take place.
Sincerely,
Hamilton Green
Elder
