After unilaterally shutting four of the seven estates under its corporate umbrella, and throwing 5700 of its workers directly – plus another 2000 private cane farmers’ employees indirectly – on to the bread line, GUYSUCO announced the formation of a “Coordinating Committee to lead, coordinate and monitor its ‘Sustainable and Resilient Communities Programme’ and ‘Alternative Livelihoods Initiative’, which were supposed to deal with the fallout from its arbitrary decision.
At the launch, there was not a single representative of the sugar workers; so, as it was during slavery and indentureship, the workers presumably do not know what “alternative livelihood” may be suitable for them.
The Minister of Public Security was there, however; possibly because, as in the days of slavery and indentureship, the poverty-stricken demographic might become restive.
This latest “initiative” is supposed to complement some other “initiatives” GuySuCo was supposed to have launched after the first closure at Wales more than two years ago. In Dec 2017, we had been informed about an EU-funded study which advised, in the words of then GuySuCo CEO Errol Hanoman, “This whole exercise has to be market-driven or market-led, because you don’t want the guys to get into growing things where the local market is saturated and there is no outlet for their produce at a viable price.”
We were never informed how much it cost to get this nugget of wisdom from the foreign “experts”, which any local “bora producer” could have proffered.
At the time, the CEO had warned darkly against those who thought it was a waste of time to bring in foreign experts: they did not appreciate the need for ‘scientific” studies that would attract foreign direct investors, one of whom, he hinted, was already in the wings. However, we were informed by the now ex-CEO that “the next step would be to train trainers to train GuySuCo former employees.”
We are still to be informed about the status of these trained trainers. As it is, however, not a single sugar cane worker has been transitioned into a farmer.
Then there was to be the Industry-Skills Training Enhancement (IN-STEP) programme at the GuySuCo Training Centre at Port Mourant. They just enrolled the first 100…but admitted they were “retrenched workers, school dropouts, unemployed youths.” One cannot take sugar cane workers and suddenly turn them into ‘welders and fabricators”.
Finally, there was the Small Business Bureau (SBB) that funded a programme which, by January of this year, had trained 110 ex-workers in “sewing, cookery, leather craft and fabric design.” The head of the SBB, Dr. Porter, according to the official report, “disclosed that GuySuCo will hire some of the recent trainees to work in the remaining factories and estates.”
It would therefore appear that the rejigged GuySuCo may be diversifying onto arts and crafts.
The “initiatives” of the Government and GuySuCo to confront the tragedy they have wrought in the sugar belt invokes the species known as “poverty pimps” in the US. As one publication describes them, “Poverty pimp” is a label used to convey that an individual or group is benefiting unduly by acting as an intermediary on behalf of the poor, the disadvantaged, or other “victimised” groups.
Those who use this appellation suggest that those so labelled profit unduly from the misfortune of others, and therefore do not really wish the societal problems that they appear to work on to be eliminated permanently, as it is not in their own interest for this to happen. The most frequent targets of this accusation are those receiving Government funding or that solicit private charity to work on issues on behalf of various disadvantaged individuals or groups, but who never seem to be able to show any amelioration of the problems experienced by their target population.”
At the launch of In-STEP, the Minister of Natural Resources, who is now not responsible for oil, extolled the commodity’s potential for solving Berbice’s economic disaster. Does this mean his US$500 million “oil and gas facility” for Crab Island is on stream again?
