Dear Editor,
Reports in the media (7/4/18) about FITUG and GTUC wrangling over which minister (Agriculture or Finance) should have oversight responsibility for Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Guyana’s number one industry, is indeed a sad reflection of a major flaw in which this premier industry has been floundering for far too long.
There is no doubt that the sugar industry has had too long a spell of depressing performance, about which there has been a number of diagnoses and remedies proposed by numerous ‘politicians’, ‘pundits’, ‘professionals’ and ‘pragmatists’ among us.
‘Privatisation’ vs ‘Nationalisation’ vs ‘Outsourcing of the Management’ of the industry have been among the several plasters prescribed for the sore and sorry plight of the industry, and these have all been given a fair chance to prove their worth (or worthlessness!). (In similar vein, the Government-appointed CoI into the sugar industry has also made its recommendations, upon which we are still to see any action).
Now, out of the blue — as the saying goes — we have a debate about which ‘minister’, not which ‘ministry’, should take control of this industry. At this rate, we may soon have the Minister of Cohesion being proposed as the most appropriate person to oversee the industry, since it appears that ‘personal’ or ‘personality’ wrangling is at the core of this poor industry’s plight!
My good friend and professional colleague, Mr E.B. John, in another section of the media, identified the need for good old “team work” in the industry. It is now palpably clear that we also, or moreso, need a strong dose of decisive leadership from the very top.
Mr President, may I respectfully beg for your necessarily decisive intervention? I do not have to tell you, sir, that there is too much at stake at the national level to allow this apparently ‘boyish’ wrangling to go on and for the industry to continue in an apparently rudderless mode.
Sincerely,
Nowrang Persaud