Govt continues to splurge lands to private investors

…nothing for sacked sugar workers

While retrenched sugar workers are still on the breadline awaiting lands to re-establish their lost livelihood, Government has continued to release these assets to private investors.

On Thursday, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) announced the opening of some 200 acres of lands once used by the Wales Estate to Caribbean Marketing Enterprises Incorporated for the development of a cold storage unit and agro-industrial park.
Since the closure of the estate some three years ago, private stakeholders have scooped up hundreds of acres of prime land without any opportunity for those who served under the sugar belt.
During the engagement, Chief Executive Officer of the company, Edmon Braithwaite, detailed some of the plans under consideration, through collaboration with local and foreign stakeholders. They are primarily looking to process and ship local produce out of the country.

“The engagement was about a cold storage facility and agro-processing unit. It then evolved into an industrial park that encompasses everything. We have some models that we’re looking at,” he said.
Executive of Caribbean Marketing Enterprises Inc (CMEI), Mike Elliot also said, “It is our vision to create an industrial park that will have the cold storage and food processing components and then work with locals and international companies.”
Business Development Officer at NICIL, Rachael Henry stated that leases were granted to a few farmers to have them integrated into the operations. However, the investment solely belongs to CMEI.
“It’s their investment…They have had discussions about the distribution of end products from Guyana…The investors are coming with the cold storage and NICIL wants to partner with the private sector with grant funding agencies with respect to having the agro-processing centre,” she indicated.
While these lands are being used up for other investments, the A Partnership For National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition is still making promises to the fired workers that lands will be granted should they win the elections. It is a promise which was made in the past but the Administration never kept its word.
In their manifesto launch, the coalition mentioned the creation of a State Land Resettlement Commission to “enable former sugar workers to access land for housing and agriculture”.
This comes on the heels of the fact that large fractions of properties from the estates have already been portioned off to private investors, while former workers in the estates are still in the waiting line with only hopes of regaining a stable livelihood.
Given the track record of Government to open these lands, even the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) had referred to the offer as an “electioneering gimmick” when it was announced on the campaign trail a few weeks ago.