IN HIS letter, “The de-politicisation if not de-nationalisation of the sugar industry is long overdue”, Mr Nowrang Persaud says that Guyana should privatise its sugar industry (SN, 13/12/2014).While I agree that there is a need for better management of Guyana’s sugar industry and for private ownership, I would disagree with Mr Nowrang Persaud about the timing for privatisation.

Mr Nowrang Persaud is wrong. To privatise GuySuCo now would lead to a heavy loss in foreign currency earnings. GuySuCo should be resusitated, made profitable, then privatised.
GuySuCo is a drain on the Treasury; but, so is GPL and Linden. It is easy to criticise when things are not going well in an industry. But let us use America as an example. At anyone time, some of American industry fare well and some fail. At the moment, America’s oil corporations are in trouble due to the falling price of oil. This will put pressure on its Banks.
We know America is not faring so well as to end its economic crisis; America’s President Barrack Obama took to quantative easing (PRINTING MONEY) to get America out of crisis.
Guyana should quantitive ease by about GY$30Bn to prop up its industries that are not faring as well at this moment in time. Mr Nowrang Presaud does not go into any detail as to where the problems are in Guyana’s sugar industry. He simply does not know. He believes that because the Guyana State has 100% ownership of GuySuCo that this implies the politicians are in charge of running the business into the ground.
With his limited knowledge of how businesses flourish and flounder, Mr Nowrang Persaud should take a lesson from APPLE. For decades APPLE was languishing at the bottom of the computer industry. Yet, over the last decade APPLE has managed to transform itself into a very profitable company.
The same can happen with GuySuCo. Any government needs to support industries when things are not going well; all it takes is a neccessary capital investment and knowledge.
I suggest GuySuCo looks into diversifying its business into a resource management company, as China and India as well as Brazil will need resources to power their industries.
SEAN McLEAN