Dear Editor,
I must admit that I found GuySuCo’s recent press statement decrying the workers’ strike actions in recent days as nothing more than the shedding of crocodile tears. The statement, in my view, is largely a repetition of what the sugar company said a few days prior, when it sought to defend its miserable management of the industry, which ultimately will affect the lives of thousands of poor, ordinary Guyanese.
GuySuCo is seeking to lay, squarely and firmly, blame for the industry’s current state of affairs at the doorstep of the workers and their unions. But this seems to be a very muddied picture; and given the age of the current GuySuCo hierarchy, hallucination is not farfetched, as the reality demonstrates a completely different picture.
As is generally known, the sugar cane plant operates on a one-year cycle; therefore meaning what is reaped this year was planted and tended last year. It is important that we bear in mind this point as we evaluate the leadership of the corporation in recent times.
Of the three (3) CEOs, under Mr Hanoman’s ‘leadership’, the industry’s average production is 192,955 tonnes sugar, assuming the 2017 target is met. Messrs Bhim and Singh, during their stints, had average sugar of 214,347 tonnes and 231,071 tonnes respectively. The facts speak for themselves.
Quite clearly, whenever Mr Hanoman is the leader of GuySuCo, the sugar industry takes a nosedive. This, to my mind, says a lot about a gentleman who has been entrusted with billion from the State since June 2015. The Government and the Board needs to ask themselves: Is the best person in charge of the industry? This as his record certainly isn’t reflective that he is.
Yours sincerely,
Patricia Persaud
