Dear Editor,
GUYANA is known internationally for its sugar industry. In fact, sugar has largely defined and determined our economic condition for decades. Mismanagement by the government of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has resulted in significant damage to the industry, and, most importantly, the loss of thousands of jobs. It therefore follows that Irfaan Ali and his PPP cannot be trusted to create jobs. In fact, they cannot even be trusted to tell the truth.
During their years in government, the current group of PPP officials oversaw the collapse of one of Guyana’s most strategic industries: The sugar industry. The closure of estates started under Bharrat Jagdeo’s watch. The continued failures caused the closure of the Skeldon Estate. The PPP cost tens of thousands of people their jobs, and now the PPP officials are using propaganda, dishonesty, name-calling, and downright lies to blame everyone else but themselves.

The PPP is promising jobs, but they have no plan to create jobs. This is just more dishonesty from the PPP. From where will Irfaan Ali find 50,000 jobs? From one of his many secretly-owned stores, gas stations, or shopping malls? Guyanese are smart enough to see through the lies of the PPP.

Guyanese are smart people. In 2010, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), under the PPP, shut down all operations of the Diamond Sugar Estate. The workers are being offered employment at the La Bonne Intention (LBI) Estate. This, however, was not feasible to a majority of the workers, since many of them lived great distances away from the estate, and the LBI Estate is located at a much farther distance from the Diamond Estate.

This situation resulted in workers from the Diamond Sugar Estate staging a protest in front of the field office to pressure GuySuCo. Many of those workers contended that they would prefer to be paid their severance package than to be redeployed to another estate.

It was alleged by two of the protestors that PPP Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud had failed to follow through on his promises to meet with members of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), which represents most of the workers, to resolve the issue. One female protestor said, “They [the PPP] got money fuh tief, leh them find we money. Look at what [super salaries] they paying the managers. Let them cut from the top.” Another one cried, “It look like slavery come back.”

According to Lucien Pierre, a workers’ representative, the employees were entitled to a severance package. “When the Diamond factory and workshop were closed, the workers got their severance pay. And now the plantation is closing, we want our severance pay.” Pierre further said that then Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud had promised to visit the estate on March 5. “But March 5 gone, and he did not meet with us. He went to Blairmont, and now I hear that he is in Israel.”

An employee, one Michael Thomas said that members of the Diamond Estate who were transferred to the LBI Estate said that there was no work for them for several weeks. This resulted in most of the work at Diamond being done by machine at LBI. Some of the female workers also complained that their NIS contributions were not correct.

One woman also alleged that she suffered from facial burns after being sent to work in fields that had been sprayed with insecticide. Guyanese should never forget those facts. The PPP killed the sugar industry through neglect and mismanagement. The APNU+AFC coalition had no choice but to downsize an already dead sugar sector. Guyanese will not be fooled by a dishonest PPP.
Regards,
Mark DaCosta