CEO steering company through structural reforms, not “bubbling on the job” – GuySuCo

Amid several challenges affecting the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and in the face of criticisms levelled against its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Cheong, the company is making it clear its management is actively steering the century-old institution through significant structural reforms while building systems for long-term sustainability.
GuySuCo has defended its CEO Paul Cheong and his management of the organisation, after he was criticised in a recently-published letter to the editor. In a statement on Monday, GuySuCo noted that while the letter attempted to raise a number of concerns about the First Crop performance, it denigrated into a personal attack on Cheong.

Among other things, the letter writer claimed that the CEO misled the public about the finances spent by the organisation. In response, GuySuCo explained that public spending by is subject to audit and parliamentary scrutiny.
As of the close of the First Crop, GuySuCo said it had utilised a portion of its budgetary allocation, but not the exaggerated figure of $9 billion as being reported by the writer. Additionally, GuySuCo explained that its procurement processes undergo oversight and are governed by the National Procurement Act.
GuySuCo also noted that like many agricultural enterprises globally, it is grappling with declining labour availability. The sugar company remarked that this is not a new issue, and certainly not of Cheong’s doing.
In light of these challenges the Corporation has embarked on mechanisation, not only to fill the labour gap but to improve cost-efficiency over time. Moreover, GuySuCo revealed that allegations of inflated private contractors’ payments are also totally unfounded.
In response to the claims made about the CEO Performance and Marketing, GuySuCo noted that it is easy to oversimplify GuySuCo’s marketing challenges without understanding today’s global sugar market dynamics.
It explained that the current average price earned by the Corporation is significantly greater than the price quoted by the writer. Under the astute leadership of Cheong, the Corporation has commenced the diversification of revenue, improve packaging, branding, and market access to reposition Guyana’s sugar.
Moreover, addressing the issue about the organisation’s production, the state-owned company said it is undisputed that GuySuCo’s First Crop production stands at 15,980 tonnes but this must be analysed in the context of the prevailing circumstances and not be attributed to lack of leadership by the CEO.
GuySuCo said heavy and persistent rainfall has severely negatively impacted the harvesting schedule, factory efficiency, and field access. GuySuCo stressed that this isn’t “playing politics” but a reality that increasingly erratic climatic conditions are negatively affecting agricultural operations globally.
Nevertheless, the Corporation said it is strategically planning for the commencement of the Second Crop by reviewing timelines, field operations, and logistics to recover as much as possible from the canes that will be carried over.
In this regard, GuySuCo made it clear that its CEO is not “bubbling on the job”, but rather, he is steering a century-old institution through structural reform, increasing climate uncertainty, and labour shortages, while building systems for long-term sustainability.