“THE promises of Mr David Granger on the sugar sector and the Amaila Falls Hydropower project represent a transparent electioneering gimmick that I am confident will not fool the Guyanese people.”Strong words from a resolute President Donald Ramotar, who, in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, minced no words in responding to sentiments expressed by Granger at the Guyana Manufacturing Services Association (GMSA) luncheon on Tuesday.
The presidential candidate of the Alliance of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) speaking to GMSA stakeholders said, “We will also develop hydroelectric power within a project which we have identified as the Potaro Basin Development Authority which could embody the present Amaila Falls.”

On the question of the sugar sector, he added, “We are not going to throw the sugar industry through the window…there is no quick fix, but we are not going to dissolve the sugar industry… it is too big to fail.”
The promise of “cheaper energy” and the assurance of support for an industry that is “too big to fail” are not new ideas, according to Mr Ramotar, Granger’s opponent in the race for the presidency.
“These are initiatives, assurances and deliverables that this Administration (the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic Administration) brought to the table,” he said.
CLEAR FLIP FLOP
The incumbent President contends that the political Opposition’s stance on support for the sugar sector is a matter of public record, which includes a massive protest last April by sugar workers when the $6B subvention to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) was threatened by the parties’ one-seat majority in the National Assembly, which currently stands dissolved.
The $6B allocation to the sugar industry, battling climate change and other challenges, was hit in day one of the 2014 Budget debates with Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) maintaining that the monies represent a handout and contending that good monies are being thrown after bad.
Prior to this, APNU, in March 2014, through its member Tony Vieira, called for the significant scaling down of operations at the state-owned GuySuCo.
He suggested that those lands used for sowing sugar cane be now used instead for fish farming and cane-derived ethanol. For that matter, he feels that Guyana should get out of the sugar business entirely, because of a number of factors militating against it, such as heavy rainfall; the need for several tons of cane to yield just one ton of sugar; and the inordinate length of time it takes to get the cane to the factory due to a shortage of labour.
The ruling party would not hear of it, and in response made it clear that it will continue to work to ensure that the sugar industry remains relevant, and that its employees are secure in their jobs.
“The changes in their position are not going to be overlooked. The Guyanese people are aware of what happened. I think Mr Granger is insulting the intelligence of our people,” Mr Ramotar said.
Despite its challenges, the current Administration has consistently maintained that the industry remains relevant to the health of the national economy.
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 GDP.
In 2014, GuySuCo recorded a production of 216,147 tonnes -– the first crop having surpassed the 75,000-tonne target, bringing in about 80,000 tonnes.
The calamitous drop in sugar prices on the global and preferred market scene, which challenges all sugar industries, coupled with the dramatic fall in earnings and, by extension, cash flow; and the prevailing weather conditions were among several of the difficulties that affected the local sugar industry during 2014. The industry saw a dismal sugar production level in the past years, but Guyana has since been taking steps to turn around its sugar industry, and hopes to soon meet a 300,000-tonne target. There is also a projection that the sector would reach a 400,000-tonne goal by 2020.
FLIMSY VEIL
Turning his attention to hydropower, the President made it clear that voting down funding for the project two years in a row, despite having been engaged in several sessions where information was provided, is also something that cannot be ignored.
“We engaged them (the political opposition). We provided information. We said we are open to providing additional information so that we were on the same level and there could be support for the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project. The outcome of all these efforts is no secret. The APNU+AFC voted down the project,” he said.
Mr Ramotar contends that Granger’s comments on a “Potaro Basin Development Authority which could embody the present Amaila Falls,” is a “flimsy veil” to push an agenda that they saw merit in, but refused to work with the current Administration to achieve.
“The position of APNUI+AFC has been, consistently an anti-development one,” he stressed.
The hydropower project is touted to be able to provide Guyanese with a cheaper, reliable and sustainable electricity supply. It involves the construction of a hydropower plant in the area of West-Central Guyana, where the Amaila and Kuribrong Rivers meet. Electricity produced there would be delivered to Georgetown and Guyana’s second largest town, Linden.
The AFHP is anticipated to result in substantial savings to the nation’s coffers, particularly in terms of foreign exchange and the purchase of heavy fuel oil.
“The comments we have seen from the leadership of APNU+AFC” represent a lack of integrity, a lack of commitment to the people and a lack of positive characteristics…it is all a warning to the Guyanese people,” Mr Ramotar stressed.
Three years of political gridlock was culminated by the November 10, 2014, prorogation of Parliament and its subsequent dissolution, which paved the way for the General and Regional elections on May 11.