The endgame for sugar

In December 2015, this newspaper revealed the PNC Government’s plans to shutter Wales Estate, which was reluctantly conceded on January 17, 2016. Minister of Agriculture Holder claimed, “GuySuCo will be exploring the feasibility of alternative ventures utilising the Wales lands. The important criteria for such projects would be wealth creation and employment generation. It is hoped that the first of such projects could commence by October 1, 2016”. He admitted the closure was unrelated to the CoI. A month later, he was more specific: he told the National Assembly that “the sugar factory would be converted into a business establishment which will see the rearing of poultry and other livestock”.
Operations were allowed to run down to the end of 2016, and finally, in May 2017, Holder laid a “State Paper on the future of the sugar Industry” in the National Assembly, where he announced the additional closure of Enmore-LBI, Rose Hall and Skeldon Estates. The paper repeatedly promised: “Employees are to be leased land by GuySuCo to engage in crops (crop types to be decided by GuySuCo and the Ministry of Agriculture)”.
However, after the Official Gazette of December 30, 2017, announced NICIL’s formation of a Special Purpose Unit (SPU) that would take control of the closed estates’ assets, nothing was mentioned again about the promise of lands to the workers. The SPU claimed that “over 70 proposals, from local and international companies, have already been submitted but announced the firm of PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) would be retained to “valuate” the closed estates. The Minister of State announced a State Land Sale Committee has been established to ensure “transparency in the disposal of the assets”.
A year later, as the valuation exercise dragged on, and more to the point, the lands, equipment and factories degenerated, all the touted prospective “bidders” including DDL, had departed. The people of Guyana, who the state boasted “owned” the estates, were in the dark about their fate until a public spat broke out between GuySuCo and the Min of Agri on one side and the SPU on the other. The former claimed the SPU was engaged in mission creep and was now trying to manage GuySuCo and not just divesting the closed estates. As an instance, they pointed to SPU’s CEO Colvin Heath-London appointing a Board of Directors in March 2018 with himself as the Chair. This had to be rescinded by Cabinet.
In the meantime, the SPU had secured a G$30B GuySuCo 5-year bond facility at 4.75% interest, where the ‘fixer’ received G$116M in fees. The money was supposed to buy two co-generation plants, upgrade the three factories to produce plantation white sugar, contribute two years of general ongoing operations costs and expand storage and packing facilities. But a year and a half later, none of this had materialised, while G$1.5B had been paid in interest for money not used, excepting for G$2 billion extended to GuySuCo for operational expenses. GuySuCo pointed out that since the divestment money was supposed to be passed on to the corporation but it had seemingly been abandoned, they had “placed at risk the retooling and restructuring of GuySuCo in their strategic plan”. Even the billions earned from the sale of “scrap metal” – to which the factories had been reduced – were not given to GuySuCo.
What is the position on the sugar industry at this point, then? No worker has benefitted from the lands that were promised to them; GuySuCo has not benefitted from the sale of assets and billions of dollars continue to be paid on the G$30B bond with the principal due in three years. In the meantime, bereft of any investment, the operational estates continue to founder: the promised 147,000 tonnes annually will not be reached this year.
Who is responsible? It was thought the decision was solely Granger’s but in August, Khemraj Ramjattan boasted “it was primarily the AFC who (sic) was a big part of that decision”. What is the endgame?
It has to be the complete closure of GuySuCo.