–to fund one-off grant for severed sugar workers, offer out-of-crop support to sugar industry

THE National Assembly has cleared $3,888,558,690B to support a one-off grant to severed sugar workers and out-of-crop support for the sugar industry.

This allocation forms part of the Supplementary Appropriation Bill No.2 of 2021, which was scrunitised in the Committee of Supply before being passed by the National Assembly, on Thursday.

Defending this provision in the Committee of Supply and championing the cause of sugar workers, was Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, who said the bulk of the money caters for persons who were made redundant by the former A Partnership for National Unit + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration, when they closed four sugar estates within three years of being in office.

To buttress the effects of the closure and those brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had announced a one-off cash grant of $250,000 each for over 5,263 severed workers.

This means $1,315,570,000B has been disbursed directly to sugar workers, immediately giving them more disposable income.

Additionally, Minister Mustapha said: “We also gave $2,355,800,000B for out-of-crop support to the Guyana Sugar Corporation. An additional $236,989,261M has been allocated for D&I [Drainage and Irrigation], to provide services to the farmers of our country, to enhance food security and enhance our D&I system.”

Funds were also secured to cover the purchase of fuel and lubricants, for pensions and essential parts and materials for the underserviced sugar factories.

“When we took over last year, GuySuCo was in need of critical support, both capital and in the field. Because the capacity of GuySuCo was just around 40 per cent… we have since re-capitalised a number of areas in GuySuCo, including factories and fields.

“And as it stands today, we are over 50 per cent of that work and that will continue over the years to ensure that we bring GuySuCo to a break-even point or eventually bring it to profitability,” Mustapha said.

He related that the government recognises the importance of GuySuCo being the single largest employer in the country and the economic benefits to the country.

One of the first decisions the new government took upon being elected to office in August was to reopen the shuttered estates and factories, breathing life into communities that had become depressed after their closure.
The Wales Sugar Estate, however, remained closed due to the factory being defunct because of poor management. With the reopening of the estates, 1,200 persons were able to return to work.

Cognisant that a diversion from the traditional bulk production of sugar is needed if the ailing industry is to recover and regain its vitality and position as a contributor to economic growth, the government has initiated plans to ensure that by 2025, 61 per cent of industry sales will come from value-added products.

Instead of being a liability to the national treasury, the industry will soon be able to “stand on its own,” through the implementation of innovative mechanisms, Minister Mustapha had said.

“In 2020, some 29 per cent of the industry’s sales were from the higher-value packaged sugar. In 2021, we anticipate this will grow to some 39 per cent,” the minister had said.

The overarching plan, however, is to ensure that a minimum of 61 per cent of the sales from the industry are generated from the value-added, packaged sugar line in four years.

“To realise this potential, significant investments have been planned to expand the Blairmont packaging plant, quadrupling its current capacity. Moreover, we will be re-tooling the Enmore Packaging Plant, to support the paradigm shift to packaged sugar,” Minister Mustapha said.

As a result of those strategic actions, the sugar industry will be less dependent on the national treasury.

In 2020, the corporation was allocated a sum of $7 billion. A sum of $3 billion was used to recapitalise the shuttered Rose Hall, Skeldon, and Enmore Sugar Estates, while the remaining $4 billion was allocated to support rehabilitation works at the Uitvlugt, Blairmont and Albion Sugar Estates.

Additionally, $2 billion was set aside in Budget 2021 for capital works at the various sugar estates across the country, while the government in June this year secured a further $1.5 billion in supplementary funds.