The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) believes that the ailing sugar industry could be rescued, but it must be given sound professional leadership, which is badly lacking.
The union also said that the recommendation put forward by the opposition to stop the bleeding of the industry may not have been well thought-out as it does not look at how a shutdown will impact the lives and livelihoods of more than 16,000 people.
In a statement on the renewed calls by A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) for the country to exit the industry, GAWU said a turnaround in the industry’s fortunes can be achieved with the appointment of a new Board of Directors with an able chairman. Professional leadership, the union said, is a crucial element needed for the industry. “With such measures, in addition to others, we see no reason why the industry’s output in under three years’ time cannot be once again significant and the industry becoming viable,” GAWU said, noting that between 1992 and 2004, the industry demonstrated its resilience and ability to come out of the doldrums.
Peak periods
In making its case for the saving of the industry, GAWU said during its peak periods the sugar industry employs approximately 16,000 workers in addition to facilitating about 1500 cane farmers. “One way or another, tens of thousands of Guyanese depend on the industry’s operations. It is the nation’s largest net foreign exchange earner and a large proportion of the industry’s multibillion-dollar revenue is circulated locally thus enhancing many business enterprises.”
The union further pointed out that many villages and communities in close proximity of sugar estates also depend heavily on the industry’s expansive drainage network. From this standpoint, the union is calling on the coalition to reconsider its position, emphasising that the livelihoods of the sugar workers and, by extension, their families should be seriously considered. GAWU expressed the hope that the political party changes its approach to one that is more positive, which would help to create a positive environment that would help the industry to return to its glorious days, thereby fostering socio-economic development.
It was People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Executive Member Anthony Vieira, who suggested on Tuesday a switch from sugar to ethanol and/or aquaculture, considering the challenges facing the industry. But, according to GAWU, Vieira’s position on the industry is one of major contradiction. Although the former Member of Parliament of PNCR, the major partner in the opposition coalition, had thrown in his support for the production of ethanol as against sugar, he opined that Guyana would not be able to competitively produce the former. Therefore, the union is asking, “Why must we plunge into ethanol, which would require capitalisation and then back out of it shortly afterwards because it (ethanol) would not be competitive?”
Shelved programmes
Further, GAWU is asking why the sugar industry should be purposefully destroyed or drastically miniaturised and replaced by aquaculture. While acknowledging that aquaculture can aid in boosting Guyana’s economy, the union remains firm on the position that it should not be done at the cost of the sugar industry. In addition to calling for a shift from the production of sugar to ethanol and/or aquaculture, APNU had also accused the Agriculture Ministry of starving the industry.
