New GuySuCo board to be named by month-end–Holder

BY the end of this month, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuco) will have a new board in place, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder said Sunday.

Speaking with Guyana Chronicle from Brazil, South America, the minister said the sugar company is not the only agricultural entity without a new board.
“All the agriculture boards are due for change by the end of June. Before the end of June, all the boards including GuySuco should be in place,” the minister, who is on travel duty, told this publication.

The announcement comes just under two months since Finance Minister Winston Jordan told reporters that a decision of a Cabinet sub-committee tasked with the identification and appointment of persons to the board of directors was deferred.

In March, by way of a full-page advertisement in the Guyana Chronicle, head of the National Industrial & Commercial Investments Limited’s (NICIL) Special Purpose Unit (SPU) Colvin Heath-London was confirmed as GuySuco’s new chairman and other directors included Komal Singh; Verna Adrian; Fritz McLean; Rosh Khan (jr); George Jervis; Arianne McLean; Vishnu Panday; Annette Arjoon-Martins and two executives from GuySuCo.
That month, Minister of State Joseph Harmon had told reporters that Cabinet had requested to have further consideration of the board of GuySuCo.

“Cabinet made some comments with respect to the board that was identified and I am sure that within the short space of time that all of the issues as they relate to the board will be clarified and that there will be a full board of GuySuCo appointed, gazetted and working,” the Minister of State had told reporters.

The life of the previous board, chaired by Professor Clive Thomas, ended in April, 2018.
However, in April, Minister Jordan made it clear that Heath-London was not appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of GuySuCo, despite an initial decision by a Cabinet sub-committee to appoint him to the post.

Jordan’s comments came just about a month after a full-page advertisement was published in the dailies announcing Heath-London, Singh, Adrian, McLean, Khan, Jervis, McLean, Panday, Arjoon-Martins and two executives as representatives of the new board of directors.

“He is not the chairman of GuySuCo; the chairman of GuySuCo is still Dr. [Clive] Thomas. The board of GuySuCo ends this month. In keeping with his responsibilities, Minister of Agriculture [Noel] Holder has to bring to the Cabinet a new board to be in place when this one is finished,” Jordan said.

The Finance Minister said he was unaware of the full-page advertisement placed in the daily newspapers in March. However, he explained that the Cabinet sub-committee comprising himself, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge; Agriculture Minister Holder and Minister of State Harmon had unanimously agreed, “that the life of the GuySuCo board comes to an end and a new board put in place headed by Mr London.”
“Mr Harmon, being the secretary to Cabinet, obviously carried out the instruction and issued a Cabinet decision to that effect, but all sub-committee decisions have to be carried to the full Cabinet,” Jordan continued. It was when the matter was raised at the full Cabinet, that there were objections and a decision was made to examine the selected persons carefully.

“In essence then, Cabinet deferred decision on that board…the decision that was written up by the secretary was null and void, once Cabinet did not approve the decisions made by the sub-committee.”

Jordan said it is the full Cabinet that has to approve, disapprove or vary whatever is taken before it by sub-committees.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.