Dear Editor,
Many persons have written volumes on various issues affecting the sugar industry, both negative and positive – to close or not to close. It is informative to note that those who felt that closure is the only option are from the APNU/AFC side of the divide, and those who saw the light at the end of the tunnel are from the PPP side. This enigma is easy to unravel since the sugar industry is seen as supportive of the PPP and has had to bear the brunt of the assault by the APNU/AFC.
The APNU’s shifting stance on sugar is well documented and verifiable. Prior to 2015, when the APNU/AFC was on the campaign trail, they made lofty promises to the sugar workers – no sugar estate will be closed, workers will receive a 20 per cent wage increase, and the sugar industry will be viable again. There were lots of feasibility studies to be done as usual. Some believed the sugar-coated lies, which tasted so sweet that reality was tossed overboard. The bitter truth came out when they scraped into office in 2015.
When they took office in 2015, they became busy with feasibility studies, conferences, and COIs after ensuring that they gave themselves a 50 per cent plus boost in salary to keep their shifty hands out of corruption. This always makes me wonder that if a minister who was already given a hefty tax-free salary and an assortment of perks can be tempted to be corrupted, then what about the lowly paid public servants and others? First, the Coalition spent $52 million on a COI, which, among other things, recommended that no estates be closed and planned to make the industry viable. Then came the White Papers and the ‘right sizing,’ followed by the harsh realities, which utterly destroyed the illusions of grandeur that the Coalition had deceitfully sold to the sugar workers. Four grinding sugar estates came to a screeching halt by 2017, and thousands of sugar workers were harshly thrust into poverty almost overnight. Billions in assets on the closed estates were destroyed, many beyond salvage, although the Coalition promised to keep them in operational condition for privatisation. This promise never materialised as dismissed sugar workers began to wander helter-skelter in search of a living. The sufferings of these sugar workers are too many and horrendous to detail.
Fortunately, as poetic justice will dictate, the same sugar workers became the reason for the downfall of the Coalition Government. The voice of the people is the voice of God. Now in 2025, with the General Elections just days away, the APNU has been busy selling dreams, but in its confused state of mind and its bid to oversell its promises to the sugar workers, it made a terrible blunder. Initially, one of its members wanted to replace sugar with hemp and cannabis production (‘Sugar done, hemp and cannabis in’), and that was when Mr Norton had to step in with his plans for the sugar industry. Norton stated that GuySuCo under an APNU Government will produce ethanol, livestock feed, and cogeneration. He continued that more workers will be employed and better compensated, and there will be more job opportunities and better working conditions. He further stated that sugar can become a net contributor to national revenues rather than a drain on the nation’s resources. But what was not clear was his statement that ‘GuySuCo can evolve beyond agriculture and can become a leader builder of homes and communities in Guyana with investment in training and equipment… and that the APNU will provide alternative employment as we RIGHT SIZE GuySuCo.’
Once again, the conclusion is pellucid: the APNU ‘will provide alternative employment,’ which means that the closure of the estates will be more structured this time around, and unlike the last time, ‘alternative employment’ will be provided – using the estate lands and training workers in the construction of houses. This can be further clarified when Norton stated that ‘we will diversify its portfolio by using its assets such as its land and workforce for new business ventures including aquaculture (tilapia?), food crops, manufacturing, and housing development.’ Therefore, the APNU plans once again to close the sugar industry. Norton promises that this time around jobs will be saved when the sugar industry is closed. This time when APNU closes the sugar industry, no jobs will be lost, like the last time.
Therefore, the APNU’s plan is not to revitalise the sugar industry and make it viable but to close it down permanently. Let the sugar workers beware of the sugar-coated lies and deceptive statements. Remember, the trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool. Never trust a liar: once a liar, always a liar.
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
