–two to confirm acceptance

THE new Board of Directors for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has been identified, according to Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy.In an invited comment yesterday, he told the Guyana Chronicle that two of the nine persons identified still have to confirm their willingness to serve on the Board before the official announcement is made.

He said, when asked, that an invitation to sit on Board was extended to the President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, but he has not responded.
Chand was publicly invited by President Donald Ramotar at the Enmore Martyrs’ Day Rally at the monument site in early June, following his criticism that the board is functioning like a “headless” chicken, after the resignation of the last Chairman of the Board, who became the Corporation’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The life of the existing board was extended by six months to June 30 and the new Board’s appointment was scheduled to come on stream from July 1. Under new management GuySuCo is expected to lead accelerated progress to ensure the industry’s turnaround.
The sugar industry is projected to record an improvement of 15.6 percent 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, 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 percent of total exports valued at US$112.2M and the industry contributed 3.9 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

(Vanessa Narine)