Dear editor,
IT is rather strange for a former president of the ruling party to make negative comments about the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GuySuCo, Mr. Sasenarine Singh, who was appointed by the current President of the same political party. It is daunting to be the CEO of the insolvent GuySuCo at this time and under the present circumstances, especially given the overwhelming and austere task of re-opening three of the four sugar factories shuttered by the Granger-led Coalition Government more than three years ago.

Some say that the previous administration had no choice but to close the sugar factories because of the $10 billion government annual subsidy needed to keep the industry afloat. The Granger Government felt that it was an absolute waste of the taxpayers’ money. Others, including the then Opposition were of the opinion that it was a calculated political decision by the Granger regime to close the sugar factories, because most of the sugar workers, almost 74 percent are PPP supporters.

Many, regardless of party affiliation or status in society believe that being the CEO of GuySuCo with the arduous task to resurrect it is perhaps one of the most, if not the most difficult assignment in the country. However, the dominant belief is that the newly appointed CEO of GuySuCo is the best choice for the job. He is qualified, talented and confident with the ability and the requisite organisational, management and communication skills more than any other CEO in recent times to turn the sugar industry around and make it a viable state entity.
And unlike the other CEOs of GuySuCo who had maintained the status quo, Singh is an outside-of-the-box and judicious thinker who would do whatever it takes to succeed and he will, for the sake of the more than 7,000 laid-off sugar workers.

That said, GuySuCo is on the move and its board and its new CEO should be given the opportunity to restore it as Guyana’s flagship industry. We must support the management team of the sugar industry, which for decades has been the country’s second largest employer after the government and its primary source of foreign-currency earnings.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Asquith Rose