Uitvlugt Estate took 6 extra weeks to achieve 2018 target

In spite of Government moves to “re-organise” the sugar industry, Guyana Times has learnt that the Uitvlugt Estate took more time than expected to achieve its target for last year. Between 2016 and 2017, thousands of sugar workers from Wales, East Demerara and Skeldon were retrenched from employment as part of the coalition government’s plans to make the sugar industry more efficient via cost-cutting measures.
During late December, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) announced that it was on track to produce target of 103,000 tonnes of sugar. According to information provided, the Uitvlugt Estate surpassed its 10,780 tonne target to achieve 10,802 tonnes by the end of 2018. However, it is now being revealed that Uitvlugt took longer than the normal 11 weeks to achieve its figure, with a competent source telling this publication that, in fact, the lone West Demerara Estate took some 17 weeks to garner 10,802 tonnes of sugar produced. This means that it was 6 weeks more than the usual time to attain the requisite tonnage.
Uitvlugt suffered numerous breakdowns last year, with a mechanical mishap on August 11 that sent 64 out of 70 knives flying. This had caused workers to dart for safety when the number two turbine broke down. The knives, which are made out of carbon steel, weigh 20lbs each.
The turbine has 70 knives on the sharp which spin to shred the canes, and on the day of the mishap, when workers had started the machines, it overspun, and the knives flew out several feet away. At that time, some $18 million worth of sugar cane produced at the Uitvlugt Estate were left to spoil after the turbine malfunctioned, though some of the produce was eventually salvaged.
Preliminary investigations suggested that it came as a result of negligence, but after 6 months, GuySuCo is yet to publically pronounce on what specific actions were taken following the multi-million-dollar incident that damaged Uitvlugt’s number two turbine. It was reported that a replacement was sought from the defunct La Bonne Intention (LBI) estate.
Guyana Times learnt earlier this week that an Engineering Manager was reportedly demoted to a supervisory post. It was in October 2018 when reports surfaced that two mangers were sent on administrative leave to facilitate the probe, but it is yet to be made clear if it was one these very managers that was supposedly demoted.
Information which this newspaper had sourced from the GuySuCo investigation explained that 10 components from the turbine had been destroyed. Estate Manager Yudhisthira Mana had not publically disclosed the full cost to repair the shredder machine, which was reportedly in the millions.