IT is obvious that Stabroek News is still smarting over our recent exposure of their unethical behaviour towards the MMA and government. I refer to a letter carried in their Monday March 29, 2010 issue headed “MMA land planes were in bad shape” purportedly written by one Raymond Persaud.
Neither MMA nor GUYSUCO knows who this person is,  even though he claims that he was part of the inspection team, so it is either that this letter is another concoction at Stabroek (which we believe) or, (lest we ourselves stand accused), maybe we can accept that a pseudonym was used.
Irrespective, the point of the matter is that when Stabroek published that the land planes were lying at MMA rotting away, we had sold them to GUYSUCO more than three years before.
We fail to see how today’s terribly incoherent letter addresses that fact, which underlies our claim.
Since as indicated, we are open to accept that the letter writer exists, and since the statements made are presented in such a classic Stabroek News fashion as to make them believable, we would like to offer the following, in setting the record straight about these land-planes.
It is true that MMA had acquired under the previous Government, these pieces of equipment for use in field levelling. It is also true that the equipment was under-utilized. In fact some were never used. As a result the Authority’s Board directed that the equipment be sold.
When we saw the tender for like equipment from GUYSUCO, a sister Corporate Government Agency, we contacted them and other relevant authorities, and offered the equipment to them.
Inspections were facilitated, and except for the expected deterioration as a result of new equipment never used, the large field components were generally in good condition. The laser receivers etc were still in their shipping boxes. Nothing was damaged by rats; but this is the kind of plausible nastiness that fits and is usually a part of concocted stories. Negotiations were concluded for the token sale and transfer of the equipment to GUYSUCO. We understood later that they did some modifications and put them to use, about which we were happy.
I even checked with them this morning, and Mr. Sangster, the general manager in charge of agricultural operations, told me that the equipment is currently being used in some areas at Skeldon.
As to those questions for me, apart from the issue of under utilization of the equipment at MMA to which we have agreed, the letter actually drifts into the merits and demerits of land plane levelling, but that is not my story now. Neither is the other concocted story published about a Cotton Tree farmer granted an injunction against MMA. Perhaps we will see another letter soon.
Mr. Editor, if anything else was needed to convince that Stabroek pursues an agenda against MMA and government, this letter has provided it. It would have been far easier to say there is no agenda, that the publications were mistakes and of course, correct them. Instead their free access to the print media is being abused and regrettably, I suspect, will continue. In the circumstances, I have no other choice but to disengage from any further interactions with Stabroek News on these matters.