THE $6 billion allocation that has been proposed for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) will allow for more than just the boosting of field and factory operations, according to President Dr. Irfaan Ali, who reasoned that the company’s prosperity is also linked to the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Guyanese families.

“That is what is important. It is not only the investment…it is linked to supporting an industry that creates jobs; that sustain jobs,” Dr. Ali said during a virtual briefing on his Facebook page Saturday morning.

In addition to directly maintaining thousands of jobs, President Ali said that the allocations for GuySuCo will also stimulate economic activities in several communities across the country.

“It promotes economic and social wellbeing,” the Head of State posited.

He stressed that for one to truly comprehend and appreciate the need for investments in GuySuCo, they have to be privy to the realities on the ground.

“The investment in these sectors, when you want to understand the impact, you can’t sit in an AC (air-conditioned) office or sit in a particular confinement and believe that you understand the impact,” Dr. Ali cautioned.
He continued, “Go to Canal and understand the impact that private cane farming has on the community; go to Uitvlugt, go to Albion.”

Over the past two years, investments in GuySuCo have led to the return of approximately 5,000 of the jobs which were lost when the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) went ahead and closed four of Guyana’s sugar estates in 2017.

During his presentation of the 2022 national budget on Wednesday last, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh revealed that over 1,300 persons have since been reemployed.

“These are jobs that were returned, these are sustaining communities enhancing communities sometimes you forget this,” President Ali said.
Meanwhile, the other severed GuySuCo workers who did not return to the fields benefitted from one-off cash grants of $250,000, in 2021.

The payout followed the release of a study conducted by the United Nations’ International Labour Organisation (ILO), which found that the manner in which the previous government went about shutting down four of Guyana’s sugar estates was “a bad decision from any perspective.”

The report pointed to the fact that not only were the estate closures done over “a very short period of time,” but the onset of the process failed to consult the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), which represents the majority of GuySuCo employees.

The closures, according to the ILO, compromised the livelihoods of scores of dismissed workers, exposing many and their families to the “poverty trap”.
Nonetheless, with the new government in place, GuySuCo has revamped its operations and efforts are ongoing to reopen three of the estates.

The government has said that the reopening of the Wales Estate was almost impossible, due to the significant dismantling that it suffered. Instead, the location has been earmarked to house a conversion plant for the massive gas-to-shore project which will see natural gas being transported from the oil ships offshore Guyana converted to electricity.

Meanwhile, GuySuCo seems to be on a path to turn things around. As a matter of fact, the company has already begun clearing its outstanding debts.

According Sasenarine Singh, GuySuCo’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), last year the company was able to pay more than $700 million to its trade creditors, in addition to clearing $175 million of the $475 million in debts owed to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU).

The CEO, in a previous interview, said the entity’s objectives are achievable, especially now since the new management has been successfully working with all stakeholders to change the strategy by which sugar is sold.

As part of plans to reform the once ailing sugar industry, GuySuCo intends to ease the production of bulk sugar and focus on more value-added products.

“This is where changing the sales mix from bulk sugar, that were sold on the world market for between US$320 to US$350, to now selling package sugar at US$700,” Singh had explained.

In making that switch, the company’s annual losses have plummeted from $2.6 billion to $825 million. This means, that by simply redesigning its marketing and sales strategy, GuySuCo has managed to save approximately $1.7 billion.

In the meantime, President Ali has hinted to government’s efforts to encourage private investments.

“It will create more jobs. Not only more jobs, but more jobs at a technical level if we are to increase our production. It will expand our production,” Dr. Ali said.

This year, government is looking to make strategic investments at Albion, Blairmont, and Uitvlugt, particularly to upgrade and mechanise aspects of the operations, while expanding packaging capabilities to produce more value-added products for domestic and international markets.