AGRICULTURE Minister, Noel Holder said last week he signed off an order of some $1.7B for the release of funds to pay the first tranche of severance pay to workers in the sugar industry who have been laid-off.

Holder made the announcement when he, along with top Alliance For Change executives, faced the media on Monday at the party’s Kitty headquarters. President David Granger last week announced that the first part of the multi-billion dollar severance package will be paid by the end of this month and the second tranche in the second half of the year.

The Guyana Agriculture and General Workers Union (GAWU) has been organising marches in the sugar belt, demanding the full severance package at once. Holder said he personally would have liked to have the workers paid their severance packages immediately after they are severed. “I signed the order a few days ago, last week, for the $1.7B to be released immediately from the treasury to facilitate the first part of that payment and of course other payments later on,” he said while emphasising that government has other areas of the economy to address. “…So it is not a question of just taking funds and just budgeting – it is difficult and the government is doing its best.”

In response to criticisms about the payment of the workers in two installments, Holder said he believes the move by government is appreciated by those affected. “I think even the sugar workers will appreciate getting it in two installments because of the amount of the money- rather than getting it upfront and perhaps spending it all and being in difficulties later on in the year.”

Notwithstanding, the Agriculture Minister remained resolute that finding $4.5B to pay severance “is a difficult thing to do”. Government said it has committed to making the industry efficient and competitive by consolidating cultivation in East Berbice at Albion, in West Berbice at Blairmont and West Demerara at Uitvlugt. The Corporation will aim at producing 147,000 tonnes annually, preserving three enlarged estates and protecting the jobs of over 11,000 workers.

Meanwhile, also addressing the issue, AFC Leader, Raphael Trotman who was also at the news conference, said the coalition government was well aware that the $500M budgeted sum was insufficient. “This matter has been engaging Cabinet’s attention for months. It is not that we were unaware severance had to be paid; we were quite aware. The $500M was indicative of that recognition and realization. We knew that $500M would not be the full amount that was needed, but we sought to keep some money in reserve —we needed to get a sense at the end of the year what was necessary,” Trotman explained.

The President had said that government cannot sustain the sugar industry in its current state and has had to make difficult choices in order to ensure the industry’s viability. The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) has been in a state of crisis for over 25 years and successive governments have been forced over the years to bailout the sugar company. Government has poured G$48.02B in financial support to the industry since 2011 and G$32B over the past thirty months – at a rate of about one billion dollars a month.

Trotman reminded that his party, since the announcement of retrenchment of the workers, has made strong statements calling for money to be set aside for the workers. He explained that late last year, it was realised that the administration would have to have a supplemental to be able to pay full severance to the workers. “So it is not that we were unaware or unmindful, it is what our balance sheet looks like at the end of the year…we have to build a whole new prison; we had to divert billions to readying both Lusignan and Camp Street…” the AFC leader said, pointing to a number of unforeseen circumstances that had to be catered for.

Finding the funds
Trotman said too that government sought to put money into the 2018 budget, knowing that it would have to find more. “It is not that we were not prepared to find more or not prepared…we knew we had to pay severance; it is just where it was going to come from,” said the AFC leader who stressed that his party has made very strong recommendations to Cabinet on the way forward.

“We must find money to pay severance and that was high on the AFC’s agenda last year and we continue to push to ensure sugar workers are treated humanely, fairly and according to contract and collective bargaining agreement is in place.” Notwithstanding, Trotman made it clear that GUYSUCO has been run down over the years and it is not under the APNU+AFC coalition government that its deterioration started. “It is that company that should have been paying the severance — government now has to take very scarce resources and add to GUYSUCO’s coffers to take up a debt that is really GUYSUCO’s,” he said as he addressed critics who lay blame at the feet of the administration.

In addition to Trotman and Holder, General Secretary, Marlon Williams and Public Telecommunications Minister, Cathy Hughes, attended the briefing. Hughes said government is grappling with the end result of bad management of a national asset.