We will ‘raise up’ the sugar industry and its workers
Guyana’s ninth Executive President, Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali
Guyana’s ninth Executive President, Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali

~says President Ali, as he reassures nation of re-opening of sugar estates

“THE people of this country must not be second- and third-class citizens in their own land,” were the words of Guyana’s ninth executive President, Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali, as he addressed the population during his inauguration ceremony on Saturday.
The statement which he made related to the re-assurance that the Peoples Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government is dedicated to the reformation and re-opening of the sugar estates that were closed under the previous government.

“On this point, the workers of this country – the bedrock of our nation – have been made to suffer untold hardship. Once proud men who worked in the sugar industry from sun-up to sundown, never complaining about the back-breaking nature of their jobs, are today barely scratching a living,” President Ali said.
He stated that the rash decision by the previous administration has placed an anguish on almost 7,500 workers to earn a decent wage as well as feed their families, plunging many households into a finical depression. Such the President noted was not the reflection of the Guyana he grew up in and it will not be the future he wishes to see for his country.

“The sugar industry has virtually been abandoned in the past five years, and the workers have been deserted,” the President said.
He added that no attempts were made to seek a new path by which aspects of the industry could be salvaged for the production of profitable sugar-based niche products, that would maintain jobs, and by doing so maintain the dignity of labour. The assets of GuySuCo seem to have been stripped by the National Industrial & Commercial Investments limited (NICIL).

Nevertheless, President Ali noted his government will fulfill its promises and will do everything in its power to restore what he described as ‘deeply distressing’ of what is left of the sugar industry.
“While we are still putting together the torn fragments …we intend to raise up the industry and to help it, and its workers, to resume the once proud place in our economy,” he said.

Sadly, the President noted that the sugar estate is not the only sector in Guyana’s economy which suffered from the poor policies of the previous administration to which the workers bore the brunt of its incompetence, inefficiency and irresponsibility.
Such Ali said, will see the PPP/C government demolishing the polices of the previous government to ensure that the people and workers of Guyana are first priority.

“My Government will dismantle the policies of the previous administration that created an environment completely unfavorable to workers. The people of this country must not be second- and third-class citizens in their own land,” said President Ali.

He added that, “The rights of workers across the country and entitlements must be protected, or the struggle of our great labour leaders Jung Bahadur Singh, J.A. Nicholson, Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow and Ashton Chase would have been in vain.”

With the introduction of the new Ministry of Labour, President Ali stated that the entity will be tasked with the undertaking of creating nobility in work, of rewarding labour with adequate wages, and of respecting the rights of workers in every sector, every industry, and every business.
“We intend to give workers the place of pride they deserve and the rewards that they merit. This land is our land – every Guyanese has a right to live in it, work in it and thrive in it,” Ali said.

It was in January of last year that Ali had first made a public pledge to reopen the estates, during the days of his campaign leading up the March 2020 elections. He had stated that the PPP/C government intended to bring back the lost jobs of the workers who had suffered a gravely due to the closer of the estates.
Following Ali’s revelation and position on the sugar industry, the then Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, had criticised Ali’s position and stated that it was only a ploy to toy with the emotions of voters in the sugar belt.

Ramjattan, in sections of the media, had said that the PPP/C government was not being honest with the people of Guyana and that the sugar industry was a huge financial burden to the state and could not be sustained due to the poor management.

Nevertheless, President Ali who was still on the campaign trail at the time stated that the PPP/C’s decision to reopen the sugar estate was not a political one but rather a human interest one to restore the lives of the sugar workers.

It was then he vowed that he and his government will do everything in their power to resurrect the sugar industry and estates.

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