Online news outfit – the Guyana Standard – in an article published on December 06, quoted PNC/R Executive, Mr Aubrey Norton as saying, during that party’s press conference on the same day, the “…PPP/C – who received the funds from the EU – gave ‘millions’ to the union.” From Mr Norton’s comments, it appears, he is insinuating that our Union was a beneficiary of monies that flowed from the European Union (EU) under the Accompanying Measures for Sugar Protocol countries (AMSP) programme. That programme was set up to assist in minimizing the impact of the 36 per cent cut in the price paid to ACP countries for their sugar.
The GAWU wishes to tell Mr Norton, the PNC/R and the general public that our Union was never in receipt of any monies that arose from the AMSP. Monies that accrued from the programme were paid over to the Government as Budgetary Support and were placed in the Consolidated Fund as is lawfully required. Expenditure from the Fund, as is well known too, is done through appropriations which are subjected to Parliamentary approval. We are aware that EU funds were spent to construct the Enmore Packaging plant and upgrade the Enmore factory. Monies were also used to convert cane fields for mechanized operations. Since the monies were paid after certain indicators were met, it meant that the industry had to utilize its finances on the various initiatives and received reimbursements after the works were examined and approved by the EU.
On the question of the AMSP, Mr Norton should tell the nation about the whereabouts of the $5.4B the Coalition Government received from the EU. The October 26, 2016 Guyana Chronicle had reported that Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan received “…the sum of twenty-four million, four hundred and twenty-four thousand euros (€24,424,000) – the equivalent of five billion, four hundred million, one hundred and fifty-three thousand, five hundred and twenty-seven Guyana dollars (Gy$5,400,153,527) – for the Action Programme adopted by this country under the Accompanying Measures Programme (AMP) for sugar”. We do not recollect anything ever being said regarding the utilization of this sum by the APNU+AFC Government.
During the press conference, we understood, that Mr Norton read from a prepared statement. The statement, which is available online, spoke to a number of issues including the sugar industry. Regarding sugar, the PNC/R said that PPP/C Administration had “…resorted to closing the Diamond, LBI and Wales estates”. While the GAWU obviously holds no brief for the PPP/C, which certainly is more than capable of addressing fully the PNC/R’s slants, we, at the same time, cannot allow patently false information to be passed off as gospel.
On Diamond, though we have cleared up this falsehood on many occasions, it continues to be repeated. It appears the PNC/R and the Government is aiming to repeat a lie so often that it will be deemed the truth. But the truth is that the PNC Government of former President Desmond Hoyte closed the Diamond factory in 1985 though the factory had just completed a modernization programme and boasted the first punt dumper in Guyana. The closure saw a large section of that estate’s cultivation being retired. The small section of Diamond that was retained remained in operation until 2011 when it was retired and the workers received their severance pay.
At LBI, the factory ceased operations in 2010 following the upgrade of the Enmore factory which was capable of handling the canes from the LBI and Enmore cultivations. What needs to be emphasized is that though workers affected they were absorbed by the industry mainly at Enmore Estate. Some of the workers were transferred to work in the then newly-constructed packaging plant at Enmore and in some areas of the Enmore factory. For the others, they were retained to man the expanded workshop facilities that were set up at LBI. They were just a handful who opted for early retirement. Of course, the telling blow came when the APNU+AFC decided to close the LBI cultivation during 2016 under the guise of consolidating Enmore. Several workers lost their jobs as it argued that LBI had to be closed to ensure the viability of Enmore. That tall tale was quickly exposed as the Government on December 31, 2016 informed the sugar unions and the political opposition that it wanted to close Enmore Estate as it was seemingly not viable.
On Wales, it is simply absurd that the PNC/R would even decide to level such a contention. Wales, as we all know, was closed at the end of 2016 following a decision of the Coalition Government. To simply seek to pass blame could be seen as an indicator of the depths that this political party will descend. It also foretells us of what sort of campaign we can expect from the party as the election nears.
It is sad to recognize the obvious untruths the PNC/R is prepared to tell and repeat. The fact that the party is engaging in a campaign of mis-information and untruths and in that process besmirching the good names and standing of other organizations is an indictment on its record in office. Certainly, one would have expected the party to be touting its achievements, though there is not much to celebrate. When it comes to sugar, there is nothing positive that the Party can say and thus it explains the party’s modus operandi.
