Happy that sugar industry

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,

Being a sugar worker for the better part of my life, I have always been uncertain about the future of the sugar industry. For quite a number of years I have been hearing all sorts of tales about the sugar industry, three quarters of which pointed to the imminent closure of some of the sugar estates in the country, especially those that have been “money losing” entities.

Editor, I know what sugar means to the economy of this country and the important role it plays as a foreign currency earner for Guyana. I know that the industry employs close to 20,000 Guyanese, stretching along the coastal belt. I also know that these workers along with their families are wholly and solely dependent on the sugar industry for a livelihood.

In my lifetime as a sugar worker, I saw the imminent closure of a few sugar estates, and was beginning to believe that the day would come when all the sugar estates, with the exception of the new one at Skeldon, would be gone. Leonora and Diamond estates are no longer there. This of course gives rise to fear that more would soon go and, little by little, sugar workers would be left by the wayside. But this is not to be.

When I listened to President Bharrat Jagdeo at a PPP/C public meeting the other night, all my fears went away when he assured residents of Enterprise of the sugar industry’s viability under the PPP/C. My fears were further put to rest when the President told the multitude: “Let me make one thing clear… the PPP’s commitment to sugar has been and will always be unshakeable and this is why when we faced significant hardship… we said we are going to make this industry viable.” Editor, I and my fellow sugar workers are happy that the sugar industry is here to stay, and we will do our part to help keep it going.

Yours cooperatively,

Indar Singh

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