Consultative consensus required on future of GuySuCo – Granger

Days after being blasted by the Opposition Leader over secrecy with a deal struck with a Trinidadian company for a possible takeover of the lucrative Skeldon Sugar Estate, President David Granger is adamant that a consultative consensus is required in determining the way forward with the heavily indebted and cash-strapped Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

The President posited that Government wants to make the sugar industry viable once again, but would only embark on such a path through consensus with the relevant stakeholder. To this end, he underscored the importance of having dialogue, which he added will ensure a path that will be acceptable by the Guyanese people.

“The Government’s position is that we should seek consensus; that is why we have embarked on talks with members of the Opposition and Civil Society,” he stated during this week’s ‘The Public Interest’ programme which aired on Friday.

President Granger continued that the Administration is cognisant of the fact that sugar is one of the oldest industries in Guyana and remains a large employer, notwithstanding too that it also occupies a large portion of the country’s land space.

At the same time, he pointed out that Government is mindful of what has transpired in the industry over the years. He further opined that financial issues at Skeldon has brought the industry to the state it currently is in, and his Administration is now focused on saving the jobs of the persons working in the sector.

Nevertheless, the Head of State explained that while Government will not be going into discussions with any prejudice, it does however want the sugar industry to cease being a burden to Guyanese taxpayers.

“We’ve been doing our best, we’ve been bailing out sugar spending billions of dollars every year and we believe this burden on the country should be brought to an end. So in all good faith, we have sought dialogue with the Opposition and the unions and we would like them to bring up ideas, we would like civil society to bring up ideas so we arrived at a consensus that all Guyanese can be satisfied with,” the President said.

Even as he touted a consensus approach, the coalition Administration came in for some bashing last week from the Opposition, Leader Bharrat Jagdeo blasting Government over the deal with the Trinidadian company.

Secret MoU

On Tuesday last, Guyana Times reported that D Rampersad and Company Limited (DRCL) was likely to rake in major benefits from the Guyana Government, including favourable tax incentives for the development of an integrated sugarcane processing facility at the Skeldon Sugar Estate, following the inking of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on December 8, 2015.

Both Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman have since denied any secrecy about the agreement with the T&T company, pointing out that the Opposition, GuySuCo, as well as the relevant unions representing sugar workers were also informed about it.

However, Jagdeo subsequently told reporters that while they were informed about the MoU, this was after the deal was already signed. “…they called us in December, after everything else and told us they want to talk to us about it, but the secret MoU was already signed,” he stated.

Furthermore, the Opposition Leader added that the agreement gives the Trinidadian company an upper hand in the event of privatisation.

“They claim that this is without prejudice to privatisation. But if you have a secret Memorandum of Understanding with someone to assess the entity, then you are already giving one person an advantage over any person who may be interested if you decide to privatise. So they are busy working these quiet deals and one day we may wake up and find that one of the prized estates in Guyana is gone to a group that knows nothing about sugar or is on middle land without any public valuation of the land, no public tendering but has acquired a deal by the Government,” he told media operatives.

Meanwhile, executives of GuySuCo appeared before the National Assembly’s Economic Services Committee (ESC) on Friday, where Chief Executive Officer, Errol Hanoman, disclosed that the company cannot be sustained, noting that it has racked up a $77 billion debt.

He noted that in 2014, the industry suffered a $17.5 billion loss, while in 2015 the losses amounted to $18.1 billion and last year, it was $12.1 billion with the average loss for 2017 projected to be $13.7 billion.

He went onto outline too that the Sugar Corporation is heavily dependent on State subventions, which amounted to $4 billion in 2012; $5.4 billion in 2013; $6 billion in 2014; $12 billion in 2015; and $11 billion in 2016, while adding that GuySuCo may need as much as $18.9 billion in aid from the State this year with the figure is expected climbing over the coming years.

While Government is yet to come up with a concrete plan for the future of the sugar industry and its thousands of workers, President Granger believes that dialogue will provide that clarity. However, commentators have opined that the direction the coalition is moving will likely result in closure or sale of the estates.

In fact, GuySuCo Chairman, Dr Clive Thomas told the ESC on Friday that “it makes no business sense to keep GuySuCo going,” while responding to queries from Opposition members within the Committee.