Dear Editor
THIS most recent statement from GuySuCo that ‘’The industry will continue to face challenges to achieving reliability in the factories if operation capital investments continue to be delayed”, contained in a Demerarawaves January 03 news story captioned,” GuySuCo calls for release of funds as production falls to 90,000 tonnes” begs the question as to the sugar corporation’s understanding that it is functioning in an entirely different environment in so far as its status as an industrial concern capable of producing sugar at competitive market prices at this time, and whether it has the extant capability of meeting production targets because of its obsolete production machinery.

GuySuCo absolutely cannot lay claim to its former pre-eminence, a fact that had been long evident before its bankrupted state was finally forced into the open by the defeat of the PPP/C, which kept it alive with taxpayers’ money, for its purely selfish political ends. This was the kind of abuse of the nation’s taxpayers that the PPP/C party wanted continued, for their anti-national ends.

It is its highly indebted state, which has caused the intervention of the coalition government to mount a rescue and salvaging operation, because of its socio-economic importance to the nation, spells that the corporation, in all reasonableness, has to be functioning under an entirely different set of rules, since it is the state through the NICIL/SPU under the astute leadership of Colvin Heath-London that has had to secure and guarantee a $30B performance bond for its mechanical rejuvenation and expansion into a diversification of production pathway.

GuySuCo should also be reminded, as it has clearly been expressly told to its managers – that its continued access to this sum is green lighted, on the presentation of a spending plan, since this has been a major factor of the Bank that agreed to lend. The fact that it has not received any further tranches, apart from the first of $7, 420,759,568, some of which sum it was reported, had been spent on items not in the lending agreement, is because it infracted the principles of the agreement. It should be reminded that the bank had ordered access to the Bond be stopped because of the latter non-adherence by the corporation.

What is at play here, is a corporation, still steep in the old colonial culture of privilege, not willing to accept its severe financially-stricken condition; refusing to subject itself to guidance by NICIL/SPU, its latter entity of supervisory control, and continuing to resist its attempts to restructure both its management and operations, thus giving sugar a better chance at surviving a crisis, which its senior managers silently watched mounting, without as much as a public shout, before the frantic “We are broke” on the very first day of the coalition government taking office.

Therefore, to still be stating that its rules precludes it from reporting to another agency, with regards how it spends finances earmarked for its restructuring, explains its obduracy, blinkered thinking, and a decrepit mindset that continues hindering the recovery process. Surely, GuySuCo should accept that its best course of action is to work with the SPU for its eventual revival, for giving sugar a second chance; but not to act in a manner that is clearly inimical to the best interests of the future of sugar.

Regards
Aditya Panday