TWELVE billion dollars has been set aside in Guyana’s 2016 budget to safeguard the ailing sugar industry.This was on Sunday communicated to a large and attentive audience of diaspora Guyanese gathered at Naresa Palace in Ozone Park in New York City, USA, by First Vice President and Prime Minister of Guyana, Mr Moses Nagamootoo, as he gave his audience an insight into the 2016 National Budget.

The Prime Minister said that under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) had suffered immensely and had accumulated a debt of $82B, but this has been trimmed by some $4B by the APNU+AFC Government in December 2015. The GuySuCo debt now stands at $78.6B, and Government has signalled its intention to further bail out the industry.

The Prime Minister said Government has put measures in place to further subsidise the sugar industry.

“Last year we put $12B, this year we are going to put another $12B dollars,” he said, as he noted that, despite the huge debt, the David Granger Administration will do all in its power to keep the industry afloat.

“We are going to try to protect the jobs of the sugar workers,” he declared.

Despite its many challenges, GuySuCo surpassed its projected target of 227,443 tonnes sugar in 2015, reaching some 229,215 tonnes. During the second crop, four estates –- Skeldon, Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt – each exceeded their production target, with the Skeldon factory recording its highest output since its commissioning.

Turning his attention to the rice industry, Prime Minister Nagamootoo told his attentive audience that the industry performed exceptional amidst a few challenges.

“We have, last year, produced more rice than we have ever produced. We sold every grain of rice, but we had nine per cent less price for rice, but we had ten per cent more rice,” he reported, noting that the Government, through the Agriculture Ministry, has been providing farmers with additional pumps and has been addressing the issue of drainage and irrigation to assist the rice farmers.

RICE AND SUGAR
“We are not going to allow the rice and sugar industries to sink because of the evils of the past, we are going to try to resurrect our country’s industries and try to make production of sugar at an economical cost, so we can package sugar, package rice, and get better prices for (our) produce,” he said.

In addressing the developing oil and gas industry in Guyana, the Prime Minister told those present that, within two years’ time, oil and gas will be pumped offshore from Guyana.

“Today, as we are near to realising our dream of becoming an oil country, a rich country, the threat for our black gold is coming from our neighbour Venezuela. So, as we try to realise our dreams, we still have many challenges (from) those who are nearby, seeking to take away our wealth, and reducing us, once again, to the status of displaced people and slaves of other powers.”

He warned that, as Guyana marks its 50th year as an Independent nation, Guyanese must be “conscious of the fact that, if we are not careful, if we are not vigilant, if we do not stand up united as Guyanese, then even the dream that is before us could be snatched away by those who are greedy and obsessed about wealth and more wealth, power and more power.”

Earlier this month, President David Granger had said that, despite developments still being in the exploratory stages, the prospects for U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil finding oil in Guyana in commercial quantities are very favourable. He made this comment subsequent to a high-level meeting with top executives of ExxonMobil at his office.

The company has been especially happy with the discovery made in Guyana, and remains committed to advancing exploratory work here.

“Last year, we made a discovery offshore Guyana, and it is very promising…so we want to follow up with data collection to understand the size and the commerciality of the discovery. We want to acquire new data so that we can fully assess the potential of the Block offshore Guyana for the value that it will bring to Guyana and ExxonMobil in the future,” Stephen Greenlee, President of ExxonMobil Exploration Company has said.

ENCOURAGING FIND
ExxonMobil began oil and gas exploration in Guyana on March 5, 2015, drilling offshore in the Liza-1 well in the Stabroek Block.

On May 20, the company announced that its exploration drill ship, the Deepwater Champion, had made a significant oil find in the Block, about 120 nautical miles offshore Guyana.
Last month, the company contracted the multi-purpose vessel Fugro Americas, which is designed to conduct high-resolution geophysical surveys and sea-floor mapping. This ship is expected to continue working in the area until March 2016.

Based on the developments unfolding within the various industries, the Prime Minister predicted that “in seven months… we are still crawling, we are still in diaper, but you can see the evidence of that change; you can see the new hope, you can see the dreams resurrecting, and you can see the people smiling once again, trying to overcome the troubles that beset our country.” (smarshall@guyanachronicle.com)

By Svetlana Marshall in New York