–following ‘headless chicken’ quip at Enmore Martyrs Day rally

PRESIDENT of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, is yet to take up President Donald Ramotar on his offer, by way of a public invitation, of a seat on the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo)’s Board of Directors.When the Guyana Chronicle contacted him yesterday, all Chand said was that he will comment on the issue when the new GuySuCo Board of Directors is appointed. The life of the current Board was extended by six months to June 30, and the new Board’s appointment is not scheduled to come on stream until July 1.
The President made the offer Monday night during a programme to commemorate Enmore Martyrs’ Day, in response to a comment from Chand to the effect that GuySuCo’s current Board was now functioning like a “headless chicken”, following the resignation of its last Chairman, who has since become the Corporation’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
“A new Board of Directors is long, long, overdue…GuySuCo and the present Board has been left headless,” he said at the Rally. He also touched on the many shortcomings of the management of the Corporation.
The sugar industry is projected to record an improvement by some 15.6 per cent in output to 215,910 tonnes in 2014, and a whopping $6B has been allocated to the sector in the 2014 Budget, given the industry’s important role in national development.
Among the measures to be undertaken to ensure a turnaround of the industry, for which the allocation addresses are: Increased production and lower cost of production; diversified target markets; and expansion of value-added production in order to survive.
In 2013, sugar exports accounted for 8.3 per cent of total exports valued at US$112.2M, and the industry contributed 3.9 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

(Vanessa Narine)