Dear Editor,
In a letter which was published in Stabroek News on March 14, Mr. Vic Oditt, a former Chairman of GuySuCo, recollected some of the factors and gave some background information which led to the failure of the Skeldon Sugar Modernization Project (SSMP).
He stated that after a review among Guyana’s sugar estates, Skeldon was selected for a project to increase the production of refined sugar as its location had the best climate for growing sugar cane, good field productivity and ample lands for extended cultivation. However, for sugar cane to produce good high quality cane juice requires that the plant be cultivated where there are unique soil conditions and plenty of sunshine and water.
Mr. Oditt stated that the increased water requirements for SSMP came from a link canal which was dug to convey water from the Torani through Manarabisi. This was not so since irrigation water was never available from Torani to meet the needs of SSMP. Torani is a canal on the west bank of the Canje River which was dug to transfer water from the Berbice River to the Canje River to supplement the irrigation needs of rice farmers at Black Bush Polder and elsewhere along the Corentyne Coast. Water from the Canje River was also extracted for sugar cultivation at Rosehall and Albion Estates. Despite the supplemental water from the Berbice River via the Torani Canal to boast the water capacity in the Canje River the water requirements were never met for the needs of the existing rice and cane cultivators. Further all irrigation water had to be pumped from the Canje River for distribution to the sugar and rice lands. SSMP had no such scheme for Skeldon.
It is evident that water, a vital element for the development of SSMP was never available and therefore Mr. Oditt’s statement that it came from Torani for SSMP is just a fantasy.
There were many other reasons as to why the US$200M SSMP failed the most important ones being poor planning and management. Guyana is a developing country with few people if any having the needed skills to successfully manage the largest corporation in the country and without political interference. There is also the lack of local technical expertise to apply diffusion technology for cane juice preparation.
Yours sincerely,
Charles Sohan
