Dear Editor
DR Leslie Ramsammy, in his missive directed against President Granger in the Kaieteur News, September 14, “Granger’s shameless claims about sugar workers haemorrhaging treasury,” spoke of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo’s) contribution to the various sectors of Guyana’s economy during the period of the 1980s.

One suspects that he has deliberately referred to that specific period, since it is inclusive of the phase of Guyana’s economic challenges during the 1980s. Ramsammy must be reminded that the sugar corporation’s contribution to Guyana throughout its decades of existence is nationally known and acknowledged. Thus, it explained why the President Granger administration was careful in its planned restructuring of the industry in salvaging those sections that were economically viable for a re-positioning of this once seminal contributor to the nation’s coffers. Given its all-pervasiveness to this country’s historical evolution, and its undeniable underpinnings to its cultural identity and socio-economic growth and development, sugar is too big to fail. But there are other sinister, subtle intents that lay behind this resort by Ramsammy.

If Ramsammy wants to posit a case of an industry that has always been totally Indo-Guyanese labour-driven, contributing to a Guyana at the time under an Afro-Guyanese-dominated government in the 1980s, then he is exhibiting a rather narrow and dangerous political mindset, even ignorance, about the history of the sugar industry in his dishonest attempt to re-write the history of an industry which owes its existence to the tens of thousands of African slaves who were dehumanised and murdered for the enrichment of its owners.

He ought to know that the history of GuySuCo, as with the entire Caribbean plantation system, began with the unpaid, unrewarded, and brutal, forced labour of thousands of black slaves, with most dying in the process of building and fortifying an industry that enriched its earlier owners and their overseas empires. Such, in a nutshell, can be said to be the sugar industry that transitioned after emancipation to what it is now.

Of particular note is that Afro-Guyanese have always been a part of the local sugar industry’s workforce; a fact that continues to be deliberately ignored and conveniently forgotten by PPP/C spokespersons whenever they speak about GuySuCo. As far as their numerous statements are concerned, the industry has always been Indo-Guyanese oriented. But lest it be forgotten, all those, inclusive of Indo-Guyanese, who succeeded the free and forced labour, brutalised from the mass of slave workforce, have done so by standing on the shoulders of the latter.

Therefore, the collective contribution from GuySuCo to Guyana’s economy through the decades, have been representative of both ethnic groups who continue to be part of the industry’s workforce. It is irrefutable, and plain as day. In fact, I stand to be corrected by referring to an observation from the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) that alluded to the fact of Afro-Guyanese constituting the largest employment segment of the industry’s workforce.
But then, what about the contribution to Guyana’s socio-economy by the bauxite industry, with its predominant Afro-Guyanese workforce? Has it ever been given the same recognition and prominence as sugar, for its financial input through the decades, particularly after independence?

Every pivotal sector to Guyana’s socio-economic development has the right to contribute to this nation’s growth and development, irrespective of which government is in office; the contribution of every vital sector must be seen as being in the national interest for the benefit of all Guyanese, irrespective of race/ethnicity, by those who are part of the productive process. It is therefore seen as a national effort, carried out by the productive efforts of Guyanese; it was mandatory, once they agreed to be part of the labour effort. Also, Ramsammy must be reminded that no national industry is owned by any specific race or section of this nation; it is owned by all the people — by Guyanese.
Thus, for Ramsammy to argue for severance for the discharged GuySuCo workers, on the subtle basis of the industry being Indo Guyanese oriented, as well as because of its contribution to Guyana, is not only fraudulent, but an attempt to present a skewed case despite the government’s repeated commitment to pay the sugar workers severance. Minister of State Joseph Harmon even explained from where the funds to meet this payment will come: “Amounts accumulated from budgetary cuts to several ministries and departments of state in keeping with a previous directive by Cabinet…Half of it has already been paid and the second tranche will come directly from government sources and will be paid in the second half of the year.”

And as an aside, although in relation to the same Ramsammy deception in the Kaieteur News, there is a statement, “the president leads in this awful charade, characterising sugar workers as parasites.” This plain political discrimination is the kind of behaviour that forces the UN to include Guyana in a “SHAME” list that now includes 38 countries.”

Here again is another wicked attempt, disrespectful in every respect, to allude to the person of the President descriptive language such as “characterising sugar workers as parasites.”

Given the known trade mark of moral decency of President Granger and his respect for all his fellow countrymen of whatever social standing, such language has never been part of his description, whether in thought, or spoken words, of Guyanese workers. In other words, this is not a “cuss out” or “cuss bird’ who bullies and intimidates people, as Ramsammy infers in his libellous article.

One should also take note of his disingenuous tactic of aligning the issue of the sugar workers’ severance pay with a UN report on Guyana, relative to a report by inmates at the Lusignan Prison. How could this be relevant is known only to the distorted mind of this PPP/C member. Thank God that he is not a member of the National Assembly. There should be penalties for such politicians who continue to disrespect the citizens of this nation.

Regards
Earl Hamilton