Dear Editor:
In September 2024, the GuySuCo CEO, Mr. Paul Cheong, made a statement to the Fourth Estate in which he stated that to “grapple with the labour shortages that are affecting productivity, the industry is pushing a mechanization effort to help cushion the fallout.” But where is the proof that this mechanization effort is cushioning the fallout? At this time all of the mechanical harvesters are parked and they have been parked for more than a week because of the soft field conditions. The only machines that are cutting canes now are the “human machines.” Because of the soft conditions in the field, there had been a steep fallout of workers from the job because of the higher risk of injury in these slippery conditions.
In the good old sugar days, the industry would have been closed by now to maintain the occupational health and safety of the workers, because as the late Sir Jock Campbell was quoted as saying “people are greater than shops, factories and ships”. But I suspect, today, that GuySuCo and GAWU do not care about the well-being of the workers, just the union dues. Capitalism and selfishness trumps the working class.
In that interview, the GuySuCo’s CEO stated that the sector and the production for 2024 would rebound. From what, may I ask? The word ‘rebound’, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means to “recover value and amount after a decline”. In 2023, GuySuCo made 60,000 metric tons of sugar, which means that the industry was rebounding from that to more (60,000 metric tons and above). So how is Mr. Cheong expected to lead on this rebound when the production is around 46,000 metric tons as of December 10, 2024, and Christmas will be with us in about 10 days? Does Mr. Cheong know that about half of the workforce have already left the fields because they met the holiday with pay qualifications and there is a very high possibility of them injuring themselves in these slippery conditions in the fields?
Mr. Cheong went on to tell the nation in that article, that there is a system of greater accountability today as they have better weed control and fertilizer system to boost yields. But the facts are not equating to Mr. Cheong’s statements and I would not want to be calling Mr. Cheong a “fibber”. Since that statement from Mr. Cheong to the media in September 2024, GuySuCo, under his leadership, ran out of the required fertilizers and agriculture chemicals needed to support the fertilizer and weed control programme. There is a dire consequence of such a situation for the future growth of sugar cane and it will have a direct adverse impact on the ratoons set to be harvested in September, October, and November 2025. They will underperform, the cane quality will be lower, the yields will be lower, the sucrose content will be less and in the final analysis, there will be less sugar being produced. So getting back to that 60,000 metric tons in 2025 is nothing but a politician’s promise; wind and nothing else.
Did Mr. Cheong tell the nation that the private contractor who was tasked with the harvesting of the canes at twice the cost of the cane cutter, with the machines has now given up and all mechanical harvesting operations are suspended because of the invasion of too many vines into the areas designated to be harvested? Would Mr. Cheong and his Agriculture Director, Mr. Panday, take full responsibility for the decision made under his watch to mothball the GuySuCo spray plane and replace it with a doubly expensive private spray plane that the Corporation cannot afford? GuySuCo is a cash-strapped company, so can you guess how often these weeds are being sprayed?
The science and art of cane cultivation have turned on their heads under Mr. Paul Cheong (specialist cane farmer) and Mr. Vishnu Panday (the man with many invented degrees). The gurus of sugar cane cultivation, like Bigam Chandra and David Eastwood, will be turning in their graves if it is known to them what is happening in the sugar fields of Guyana today under Cheong and Panday. To conclude, Mr. Paul Cheong speaks like a politician, he expects this and he expects that, but as a CEO of a Corporation, you do not expect, you complete and prove the results; delivery is key. Oops, I am sorry, oh yes, Mr. Paul Cheong is a member of the PPP Central Committee in charge of West Demerara, so he is a politician. God help the sugar industry.
Sincerely,
Satish Seetaram
