Agri. Minister assures ‘Honour Roll’ audience…
THERE will continue to be changes in the way the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is managed to ensure the sustainability of the crucial sugar industry, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud assured yesterday.
“We need more canes in our factories. We need more sugar for export. We need to cut the cost of production. We have to eradicate corruption and wastage”, he declared as union and industry leaders stressed the importance of maintaining sugar’s viability in the face of severe challenges.
The calls to keep sugar on a firm keel amid the steep cut in preferential prices on the European Union market and falling production came at the corporation’s honour roll ceremony at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, where high-performing workers in 2009 were acclaimed.
Chairman of the GuySuCo Board of Directors, Dr. Nanda Kishore Gopaul, pointed out that the industry cannot survive unless it can produce sugar in the order of 400,000 tonnes yearly.
He said the industry is in its lowest ebb in 15 years, and has been unable to meet its productions target for several reasons.
The corporation hopes to do better this year based on the work put in last year, he projected but urged, “All of you have a vital role to play.”
President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, said the unions want Guysuco to succeed, noting “if not the unions will be weak and affected.”
As Chand was being introduced, he was called a friend of Guysuco and this drew loud heckles and taunts from some workers.
He said too that the company must give workers pay increases or they may drift away.
He argued that the company needs to get production moving in the right direction and asked that the board look at extravagance in management.
On production he declared, “We need to stop with excuses and get the work done.”
Chand noted that the new Skeldon factory was meant to cushion the effects of the EU price cuts “but it is not yet functioning.”
He said that he expected, as the Chairman said, that the ultra modern factory would have had teething problems “but not heart problems.”
Persaud noted that within the sugar sector, the workers have been at the forefront of the struggles for the survival of the industry.
The minister thanked the Guysuco board for taking bold steps to enhance efficiency and fixing weak procurement systems.
His comments about continued changes came in light of the recent shake-up at the helm of Guysuco, with former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Errol Hanoman being replaced.
“This is why despite the adverse financial situation in which the industry now finds itself, the sugar corporation must continue to place a high premium on the contribution of workers”, Persaud stated.
“I too am a worker and your government, in which I serve, is committed to ensuring the sustained improvements of the living and working conditions of the workers in the sugar industry,” he said.
New acting CEO Paul Bhim appealed to workers and the unions representing them to aim for an annual production target of 400,000 tonnes by 2012 so that the company can enjoy sustained profitability and enhanced cash flows.
He vowed that the corporation will continue to move forward on its aggressive land conversion programme in East Demerara to allow mechanised harvesting to cope with a shortage of labour.
Bhim told the gathering that the retention of workers in the process is guaranteed, dispelling speculation that with mechanization some workers may be sent home.
He also referred to the Enmore packaging facility which the company plans to have operational by 2011 for the sale of packaged sugar to make up for the loss to the industry brought on by the EU price cuts and the falling Euro.
Guysuco, he said, plans to have 14,000 hectares of land under cultivation next year and every effort is being made to fix the issues at the new Skeldon factory.
Bhim said that of the $4 billion spent by Guysuco as capital works in 2010, 75 percent is on agriculture projects.
“It is money well spent to make the corporation a viable one,” he said.
He promised that the corporation will continue to have training at all levels of staff and briefing sessions to allow for feedback.
He noted that the challenges to the industry are numerous “but not insurmountable”, adding that the resilience of the workers over the years has been able to withstand these.
As the new acting CEO, Bhim said his understanding of the problems of the industry and the workers is a point in his favour when it comes to his leading the corporation.
Persaud said that the members of the honours’ roll have become the torchbearers of outstanding performance, “role models to your fellow workers and, no doubt, would have derived great personal satisfaction and pride from your achievements.”
He said that outstanding performance is what the industry badly needs at this time, at all levels.
The minister said that too often attention is only paid to material rewards. He noted that adequate remuneration is very important and that without it, the worker cannot put bread on his/her family’s table.
“Without it, the worker cannot set aside that which will become necessary for later years when his or her working years are over. Without it, our workers’ future security is imperiled.”
“But there is another reward that is equally important. I am sure that those who will be honoured here today can identify with this reward. It is a non-material reward: realizing through one’s work that we can achieve fulfillment of ourselves; we can become better at what we do not just because we will be given recognition for excellence but for the personal satisfaction that this endeavour brings. There are countless men and women who work in this industry who find joy in going to work each day.”
Persaud said that even though the struggles today are different, sugar workers have a legacy to maintain. “The sugar industry must never be allowed to fail. I want to assure that you are not alone in this process. And I promise you that it is the government’s resolve to make it very competitive in all aspects of production,” he said.