– discusses ways in which assistance can be provided
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Monday met with workers from the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate who have been unable to work as a result of the factory experiencing mechanical problems, thus resulting in it falling behind its production target.
While the media was not invited to cover the meeting, a post on the VP’s Facebook page stated that the meeting was held in order to discuss ways in which assistance can be provided to those affected.
Members of the head table at the meeting
It was reported that a turbine gear in the factory broke, resulting in grinding operations being left at a standstill back in March. Despite the gear being replaced, there have been challenges since the part was manufactured decades ago and the manufacturer has gone out of business.
Prior to this mechanical issue, grinding operations had resumed after suffering the same fate.
Estate Manager Yudhisthira Mana, back in April, had stated that the fabrication of the two parts is vital to the operations of the facility.
The affected workers at the meeting
“The part that was damaged in the factory is one that is over 50 years old. It is one that normally don’t be on ordering and safe keep because it’s rarely been damaged, and so to say just have one on standby to replace, we don’t normally have that,” he said.
It was reported in sections of the media that Mana noted that to even source a unit for the machine, Nexus Engineering had to do “reverse engineering” because there was no technical blueprint that could have been used to replace the part of the 50-year-old machine.
“Since the part failed, GuySuCo engineers and Nexus Engineering Company, we are all working together 24 hours a day to get it right,” Mana has related to the State’s media.
He disclosed that even as operations at the estate remain halted, decisions were taken to ensure that those persons who were affected by the disruption can still earn from the estate. Nevertheless, since March, the estate has not been in operation, thus leaving sugar workers at wit’s end.
At the meeting on Monday, the Vice President was accompanied by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha; Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh; Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall and Minister within the Public Works Ministry Deodat Indar.
