The behaviour and actions of the Mahaicony Rice Limited (MRL) is most disgusting and one could well imagine the frustration and dilemma of rice farmers who are still to receive payments for paddy delivered to this unscrupulous company. It is not a small sum of money owed to rice farmers. It is over $400M and therefore this would put a severe squeeze on the affected farmers because they depend on these payments to begin replanting for the current crop which is already much advanced.
As a result of this large outstanding sum of money many of the affected farmers have been forced to borrow or seek credit in order to purchase inputs for replanting for this crop and this will certainly put additional strain on them because many are still recovering from the devastation of flooding.
As a result of this long drawn out unsuccessful battle with MRL for farmers to get what is due to them it became inevitable that legal action had to be sought. However, that approach also seems to be a frustrating too, but has also raised new concerns which are indeed troubling and does not provide any real solace for the affected farmers.
Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, recently expressed his displeasure with the seeming inaction of the Guyana Police Force and the unhelpful position taken by the magistracy in the court matter involving the rice company. He stated that the Rice Factories Act No. 8 of 1998 provides for the retrieval of MRL’s records for review; and as a result, the cooperation of the company’s senior executive officers is integral to this objective.
Recently, the Director of Public Prosecutions advised that MRL’s accountant, Ishwar Singh, be charged for refusing an individual, identified by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), permission to inspect the books of the company.
Persaud stated that inexplicably the presiding magistrate denied the application by the police for an arrest warrant to be issued to ensure that Singh attend court.
“Singh is yet to attend court and the legal process continues to be frustrated,” the minister said.
“The ministry, on behalf of the affected rice farmers, calls on the owner of MRL, Jai Beni, to do the decent thing and pay the farmers who are owed close to US$2M for paddy purchased in the first crop,” he said.
While no one can dictate to the courts how they must rule something definitely seems to be strange with the application for the police to issue an arrest warrant being denied because this is a most serious matter as it not only involves some level of criminality but very importantly it is affecting the bread of people who are primary producers of food in this country. Therefore they cannot be treated with disrespect and contempt. On the contrary they ought to be treated with the highest regard and respect.
However, knowing the reality in Guyana the obvious question of whether person or persons within the system have not been paid off by MRL to protect their interests and if this is so then it would be at the expense of the affected rice farmers which would be a clear injustice to them.
Arrest warrants are issued for people accused of much less serious offences than that which the MRL executive has been accused of and therefore the whole affair smacks of some attempt to thwart the course of justice.
In the meantime, the relevant authorities have to increasingly apply all forms of pressure on MRL to ensure that the farmers are paid for their paddy. Their labour cannot be allowed to go in vain because they are the ones who contribute significantly to our economic sustainability.
MRL outstanding payments most frustrating
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