The future of the sugar industry is a matter that attracted considerable attention during the year. Such attention, we believe, is not unwarranted given the scope of the industry and the hardship that has beset those who were disregarded after four (4) estates were closed. Our Union, of course, as a key stakeholder has more than an abiding interest in the industry’s future. On several occasions, during last year and this year, our Union expressed concern that we were apparently sidelined from even being aware of what the GuySuCo and the Government had in mind for the industry. While some tidbits were shared here and there, our Union demanded, rightly we believe that the Corporation engages us on its plan.
Our continued insistence paid-off when the Corporation at last, on November 20, invited us to share some details of its plan. From our interaction with GuySuCo, we learnt that the Corporation is intent on improving field productivity, go into further mechanization and rehabilitate its factories. Apart from those investments, the Corporation aims to construct a white sugar plant and a cogeneration plant at Albion. There is also a plan to establish a co-generation facility at Blairmont and to expand that estate’s packaging plant. At Uitvlugt, the GuySuCo shared, that it will also improve its facilities to produce more bagged sugar and is examining the establishment of a distillery at that location as well. Our Union has sought a copy of the plan to examine it more carefully and to determine the reliability of the assumptions and conclusions. The Corporation did commit to sharing with us the document after it had completed some updating. So far, our request remains unfulfilled and we must wonder whether it will take us another year before we get the document.
While the Corporation’s plans, on paper, sounds positive, we learnt that financing for the improvements planned are not yet clear. Our Union queried how was it that the sugar company expects to finance the plan if it hadn’t monies available. GuySuCo said it was looking forward to the intervention of the Administration to ensure the release of the funds. Our Union recalls that President Granger said in June, this year, when he visited Albion Estate that he undertook that the bond proceeds would be released to GuySuCo. Whether it is coincidental or not, it was around the same time that the bond proceeds ceased being released.
