WITH the Rose Hall Estate set to be re-opened on September 23, 2023, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said that this is just one way in which the government is putting money back into the pockets of citizens.

During a press conference at Freedom House on Thursday, Dr. Jagdeo said that restoring the estate will revive the Ancient County of Berbice that faced immense turmoil during the previous APNU+AFC’s tenure in office.

“Sugar was the major economic activity for Berbice; for the whole County. The sugar workers’ income served as the driving force for the local economy,” he said, adding that sugar workers aided in the functioning of all sectors.
Addressing the strain that was placed on the local economy during the APNU+AFC’s time in office, Dr. Jagdeo said that thousands of sugar workers were fired as a result of the closure of the sugar estates.

In 2017, the former APNU+AFC coalition government had announced the closure of several sugar estates across the country, leaving thousands of persons without jobs or sources of income. The move saw four sugar estates being closed, and 7,000 sugar workers losing their jobs.
The Rose Hall Estate, prior to its closure, was “home” to some 2,500 sugar workers, but 1,181 of them were retrenched. The remaining workers from the Rose Hall Estate were transferred to Blairmont Estate over in West Coast Berbice, and Albion Estate on the Corentyne.
The closure of the estates, according to Dr. Jagdeo, resulted in an increase in unemployment within the various sectors, and the entire economy faced tremendous difficulties.
“People were losing hope,” he said, reflecting on how the livelihoods of sugar workers were destroyed, and their families suffered to the point where some parents could not even afford to send their children to school.

“Our strategy has been to put more disposable income back into the economy,” the PPP General Secretary said, noting that the government is committed to ensuring that what happened under the APNU+AFC does not transpire ever again.

He also said that re-employment of the sugar workers is important in the process of breathing life back into the Berbice economy.
During the announcement of the re-opening of the estates, the Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Sasenarine Singh on Wednesday credited the Guyana government, under President Dr. Irfaan Ali, and Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha for providing the required financial and technical support to begin the process of reopening all the sugar mills that were shut down under the previous administration.

“We have started the process now with the reopening of Rose Hall Estate, which is tentatively set to reopen on September 23, 2023,” he said.
Also speaking briefly on the reopening of the estate was the Agriculture Minister, who said that this is demonstrative of the PPP fulfilling the promises it made to the people who have always been and remain at the centre of the country’s development policy.
Recently, the National Assembly cleared supplementary funding in the sum of $1.5 billion to provide additional resources to facilitate the rehabilitation of 1,572 hectares of land at the Albion, Blairmont, Rose Hall and Uitvlugt Estates.
Although the sugar industry has been considered a liability for years, the PPP administration is hoping to “lift the industry from the ashes.”