SUGAR is once again occupying the headlines. Just as things appeared to be settling down after the announcement of the planned merger of the Wales and Uitvlugt factories on the West Demerara, there appears to be a flare-up of anxieties on the East Demerara.The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), along with the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), issued a statement this week indicating unease with an announcement that the La Bonne Intention Factory operations will be merged with the Enmore Factory. This move, according to GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer, is being made in an effort to reduce the cost of production and develop the East Demerara estate. It must be recalled that the LBI estate closure is not new, having been announced since 2011 under the previous Government. One media house had reported at the time that sugar workers were protesting, having been “informed that the estate was on the verge of closing, and as a result they would all be sent to Enmore.”

GuySuCo CEO, Mr Errol Hanoman, recently explained that the planned 2011 closure of the LBI Factory and the integration process into Enmore was “stymied for a number of reasons over the years.” This, Hanoman said, led to two operational departments at the estates, which included Field Workshop, Mill Dock, Field Lab, Stores, and Administrative Office.

In effect, what is taking place now is the conclusion of a process which commenced in 2011 in order that GuySuCo can operate at its most optimal under the circumstances. This is being significantly augmented by Government injecting a nine-billion-dollar subsidy into GuySuCo to keep the corporation going, mainly owing to the fact that it employs a large number of Guyanese. A total of $23 billion has thus far been allocated to GuySuCo under the current Government. This is in addition to billions more having been allocated under the PPP administration over its 23-year lifespan.

In spite of the fact that sugar is being produced by GuySuCo at a cost which is above the world market price, such had been the gains made by GuySuCo under the new management that, for the first time in several years, the Annual Production Incentive (API) was paid, as promised, on April 1st. Sugar production targets are being met, also for the first time in years. Reports from GuySuCo are that workers’ attendance is at its highest — in the vicinity of 65% — in recent memory. Further, issues of scheduled weekly worker payments are also no longer a bugbear.

There can be no question that advances are being made to bring GuySuCo to a position of break-even by 2018, as is outlined in the Commission of Inquiry report. GuySuCo, the Government and the Minister of Agriculture have taken flak for issues relating to sugar since the Government has come to office. Some of the flak has been deserving: the manner in which the Wales Factory merger with Uitvlugt was announced was unquestionably less than desirable; and could, and should, have been handled better.

That being acknowledged, sugar is performing better than it has done in years. This improvement has been as a result of the reorganisation of operations; and for progress to continue, further measures to enhance operational efficiency will be required. These may not always be popular decisions, but if the industry is to remain viable — to benefit the majority of the workers now engaged and also whose relatives are indirectly dependent on it — then it will require that the big picture of sugar in Guyana be considered. The health and wellbeing of the industry for the purposes of benefiting as many workers as possible — within a framework of an operation which can break even within a few years — ought not to be compromised by what some view as considerations of political turf. GuySuCo and the workers, as a collective, must come first and foremost.