Dear Editor,
Having read an opinion piece from Gobin Harbhajan – APNU/AFC Regional Democratic Councillor (RDC) and former SEI Board Director – in a letter to the press on August 24, 2017, I am compelled to offer some comments using verifiable facts on the subjects articulated to support privatisation of the industry.
1. If Harbhajan is au fait with recent history or lived in Guyana during the period 2009-2015, he ought to know that the present Interim Management Committee (IMC) members of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo); Hanoman and Bhim, functioned as Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of GuySuCo consecutively in the periods 2009 to mid-2010 and mid-2010 to mid-2014. In the period mid-2014 to mid-2015, Raj Singh was the CEO. Using Harbhajan’s rationale for the decline of GuySuCo, it follows that theft, squander mania, mismanagement, cronyism, poor investment decisions, etc are synonymous with Hanoman and Bhim. Incidentally, these persons are managing the industry since mid-2015. It is therefore logical to surmise that the decline will continue as evident in performances since mid-2015.
2. The RDC Councillor concludes that “nothing ever worked” at Skeldon. Editor, it is Harbhajan who hosted the press at Skeldon in December 2016 to address the issue of power supply for the Christmas season. In that press outing, he is quoted as saying in KN edition of 12/04/17: “the Wärtsilä engines are capable enough and will be able to supply 10 megawatts of power to the national grid”. “We want to make it clear that there is no problem at the co-gen plant; it is 100 per cent operational”. Now, can this elected official explain how nothing ever worked at Skeldon, yet the engines can supply 10 megawatts of power and the co-generation plant is 100 per cent operational?
3. Harbhajan attributes the downfall of the Wales Estate to “voodoo crop husbandry”. I urge Harbhajan to speak with IMC members Hanoman and Bhim, as they approved this voodoo crop husbandry policy. I hope that Harbhajan is also fully aware that voodoo crop husbandry policy is in full force, causing Blairmont and Uitvlugt cultivations to be destroyed by rodents over the last one and a half years.
4. We are now advised by Harbhajan that Skeldon should be the model for privatisation. Before moving to Skeldon, this nation was lectured by GuySuCo and Government about the Wales model for diversification. Can Harbhajan present this nation with a progress report on Wales’ diversification? Show us the diversification plan and its achievements along with income and expenditure at Wales since closure of the sugar operations in December 2016.
Once there is hard evidence to convince the citizenry that Wales diversification model is yielding profits and jobs, then, consideration can be given to any other model.
I urge Harbhajan to respect the intellect of Guyanese and desist from spewing lies and half-truths on subjects he is not proficient in. While Harbhajan is from a different era, he must appreciate a fact that the age allows citizens to access information via a few clicks.
Sincerely,
Sookram Persaud
