Dear Editor,

I REFER to the article “Appalling state of Skeldon, failing industry…. Jagdeo, Ramotar trying to confuse the nation with trickery” carried in the November 17th edition of KN, in which the GuySuCo Chairman named the company that conducted the audit at Skeldon.

Editor, I feel compelled to make a few points so that the Guyanese public can decide where trickery is coming from:

Wartsila is well known globally for its expertise in power generation, mainly with engines. This company is not known for expertise in sugar mill designs and sugar production. From the photographs and descriptions provided, Wartsila’s audit focused on power generation at Skeldon. It therefore boggles the mind how the Chairman, using findings of an audit from a power company as a basis, concluded that the whole factory is falling apart. GuySuCo is deliberately withholding a fact: that Wartsila currently manages the operations of engines at Skeldon. Therefore, the only plausible conclusion is that Wartsila may have an interest in the steam power plant (boilers and turbines) but do not want to pay the real price; hence an audit to argue for reduced value for assets.

It’s a case wherein a person intends to buy a car and an inept seller depends on the buyer to assess that car for a value. Is there some trickery here?

I spoke about the need for a robust maintenance programme in my previous letter, and I maintain that if proper maintenance is not done, any machinery will deteriorate, and do so quickly. Can the Chairman provide this nation with the maintenance programmes for Skeldon for the periods May – August 2015; December 2015 – February 2016 and May – August 2016? This will explain whether or not Skeldon was under-maintained during the three maintenance periods under his watch.

The photographs provided are for cooling water pumps. This looks like the raw water (canal water) pump station, which will be in poor condition if pump glands leak. The photos show this. Is there some trickery here?

In the article, Mr. Vieira was quoted as saying: “When we took over Skeldon, it was only producing 20,000 (tonnes) of sugar”. This is just a plain lie. At the end of the first crop for 2015, Skeldon produced 8,220 tonnes of sugar, and was poised for a good 2nd crop, with canes in the ground; which Mr. Vieira and the Chairman inherited. At end of 2015, Skeldon made 39,158 tonnes of sugar, and the Chairman boasted about it. This is 19,158 tonnes more than what Mr. Vieira stated. Is there some trickery here?
The year 2016 is coming to a close, and GuySuCo’s production is just about 150,000 tonnes of sugar. The company is on track to hit the lowest production since 1990. The Chairman and team may be searching for reasons to explain this abysmal management performance, and Skeldon seems to be an ideal scapegoat. Is there some trickery here?

Yours sincerely,
FREDRICK YUVRAJ