IT is certain, that many Members of Parliament from the Opposition side of the House, particularly those from the Alliance For Change (AFC), and even from A Partnership for National Unity(APNU), must have hung their heads in abysmal shame at the shocking utterance of APNU’S Finance Spokesperson Carl Greenidge, during his response to the 2013 Budget that ‘Sugar workers are YOUR problem’ – meaning that it “is not the responsibility of the Opposition but one for the Government”.
Not satisfied, he continued: “Combined, GuySuCo and GPL is a ‘black hole’ in which resources of tax payers are being dumped”.
This is as cold as stone, that any such pronouncement can be made; yet one ought not to be surprised, since it emanates from a politician who held the pivotal cabinet position during those dark days, that oversaw the gradual destruction of the Guyana economy, reducing its citizens to beggar status of CARICOM.
His infamous “I have no apologies to make” comment, made in the aftermath of the notorious 2012 budget cuts, underlines him as being a ‘stony hearted wannabe’, whose ambition to return to Executive office, must never be fulfilled.
This Chronicle Observer column would like to briefly examine his comments as they relate to the sugar industry:
There are precedents of Greenidge’s statement. The first being the practical actuality of this position during the long years of PNC dictatorial rule; and, the other, during the campaign period of the 2011 poll, when David Granger during an address to stakeholders on what his policies would be if elected president, emphatically stated that he would privatise the sugar industry.
An examination during the PNC’s long, barren years in office, would reveal a policy of neglect, which was really an attempt to de-emphatise sugar. There were virtually no inputs into the industry to make it viable, and this inevitably led to the closing down of two sugar estates, causing thousands to be out of employment. Of course, Greenidge would have been a major part of such a decision.
Thus this indifference to the industry, and unconcern for its thousands of workers, have long been an established platform of PNC official line against sugar.
But this industry, despite its current challenges, is still a significant foreign exchange earner, contributing US$300M to the national coffers for 2012. Most important, it is still the largest employer, of 120,000 persons on whom an almost double number of households depend.
Therefore, it recognises the continued government intervention in this still critical economic sphere.
Moreover, the fact that almost US$200M have been invested in the Skeldon Project, emphasises Government’s determination that the industry must continue to be a critical part of the national economic consideration, apart from the pivotal reality of sustaining employment on which so many are dependent.
It is unbelievable that such a statement, that reeks of full sarcasm and disrespect for the socio-economic needs of thousands of the Guyanese working class, is echoed by a politician who, because of his former African, Caribbean & Pacific (ACP) posting, ought to know more than most, of the vital importance of the industry, particularly as it relates to being a source of employment for the numerous thousands in the states of those named regions.
This is ‘foolish politics’ of a most dangerous type, since it has a subtle message, and it must further alert Guyanese to a party and leaders that are bent on depriving them of the further benefits offered by Budget 2013.
After all, Guysuco’s staff in every category is multi-Guyanese, where all have a stake in working with the Government to make this household industry – viable again. This is what the Budget for 2013, offers.
As for Greenidge, he must be declared ‘ENEMY OF THE WORKERS OF GUYANA’.
