GOVERNMENT has again extended an offer to the political Opposition to engage on issues relative to the cash-strapped Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuco), an entity Government is unwilling to turn into a “political football.”Minister of State Joseph Harmon made this disclosure during a post-Cabinet press briefing on Friday at the Ministry of the Presidency.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo conceded on Thursday that GuySuCo’s troubles began while his party was in office. And while he still lays some amount of blame at the feet of this Government, Jagdeo said he is still open to talks with Government to chart a way forward for the sugar industry.

According to reports surfacing last month, GuySuCo is in US$410M debt, and was at the time making moves to sell 2,000 acres of land to raise cash.
GuySuCo has already received more than $21B from the Government to help offset its expenses during 2016. Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Errol Hanoman, has opined that, based on current trends, GuySuco would need an annual subvention of more than $10B.

Against this backdrop, the Minister of State expressed sentiments similar to those of the Opposition Leader, noting that Government always has an open door policy when dealing with matters of national importance.

“We have always said that we welcome the Opposition Leader [and] we welcome the opposition to have conversation on these matters,” he declared. He also said Government does not wish to have matters of such importance being made into a political football, since the lives of a significant number of Guyanese would be affected.

“We believe that it has to do with the economic future of this country, and therefore any conversation which we have to have on GuySuCo, we welcome the Opposition Leader and his crew to discuss it here with us. We’ve said it before: We welcome any intervention by Dr. Jagdeo and his team to talk to us about it,” Minister Harmon said.

With the issue even before the National Assembly, Harmon said, Government is still inclined to host discussions outside of the chambersof Parliament in order to chart a way forward for the industry.

“The Government always stands ready, willing and able to have a conversation; to have discussions; to have consultations with the Opposition on this and any other matter of national significance. We’ve made that clear, and we want to repeat it.”

Meanwhile, in relation to a call by Jagdeo for a further bailout of GuySuCo, Minister Harmon has said that matter is currently engaging the Minister of Finance, who has been approached by the Minister of Agriculture.

The Opposition has traditionally gained political support from sugar workers over the years. However, since its ascension to office, the APNU+AFC Administration has expressed no intention to close the sugar industry –- one of the six pillars of Guyana’s economy — and according to Minister Harmon, Government does not see this issue as a political issue, but rather a national one.

“We’re not running for any elections in December or anything like that; but as a national issue, we believe that the role GuySuco plays in the national arrangement will require that we pay careful attention to what is happening there.”