Dear Editor,
READERS would recall that the IMC and Board of Directors of GuySuCo took credit for its 2015 performance despite taking over the reins of the industry in June of that year. That performance was attributed to the IMC’s leadership and zero political interference in the corporation.
After one and a half year at the controls, production at the end of 2016 plummeted to a 25-year low. The reasons proffered for that abysmal performance were weather and labour, not the IMC’s leadership.
We now come to 2017. The first crop of this year commenced during the week of February 12 and after four weeks of operation, sugar production is a disaster. One wonders whether GuySuCo’s board or Government is monitoring performance indicators for the corporation, or whether they place total trust in the utterances of the inept CEO. At this juncture, efficiency is of utmost importance to reduce costs and ultimately, dependence on the treasury. I say this because after four (4) weeks of operations, a mere 132,000 tonnes of cane was milled, producing 10,137 tonnes of sugar with five factories operational. This translates to a conversion rate of 13 tonnes of cane to one tonne of sugar for the entire industry. What is even more troubling is, some factories are taking 14+ tonnes of cane to make one tonne of sugar. A quick comparison of the corporation’s production estimate shows a dismal 49% achievement of its target after four weeks. Such a performance level translates to an astronomical unit cost of production. The present performance raises the question of whether there is any benefit from the large group of executives, technical managers, engineers and assistants that the inept, arrogant CEO employed recently. I am almost certain that whenever GuySuCo’s communications unit surfaces to defend this shameful performance, it will cast blame on run-down assets, weather and workers. Management will take zero responsibility.
Regards
Sookram Persaud