True to its promise, one of the first actions of the new PPP/C Administration was to live up to its commitment to reopen the closed Skeldon, Rose Hall and East Demerara Estates. It is a noble attempt to reverse what was considered the largest retrenchment exercise in post-independent Guyana and a concerted effort to erase that dark blot in our history. Already, several hundred workers have been re-engaged and many more are expected to become employed over the coming months. The dark clouds that have hovered over those estates since 2017 have dissipated and there is now a renewed sense of optimism. For many workers and their families they have begun to piece their lives back together though for some, life may never go back to what is once was.
That is indeed a sad reminder of how heartless were the previous bunch who paraded along the corridors of power. They sat, perched high atop their ivory towers, playing master of all as they sought, irrespective of the social and economic costs, to destroy the sugar industry and in its wake uprooting the lives of thousands of ordinary Guyanese. As a socio-economic study, that expectedly will soon be released, has found the impact has been nothing short of devastating. Now many workers are anxiously awaiting re-employment and have enlisted their names for consideration. The massive response by the workers indicates how important the estates were to them and tells us that there was simply no alternative to provide adequate and remunerative employment.
While heartened by that development, we could not help but be distressed by what was found when the rusted padlocks on the gates of the estates were finally opened. Our Union, a few weeks ago, had a chance to visit the now re-opened estates and was most distressed when we walked through the former teeming estates. We saw expensive, yes very expensive pieces of equipment just allowed to deteriorate in the weather. We saw what appeared to pieces of machinery chopped up. In some instances important components were just stripped. Our Union in 2019 had pointed out that estates assets were being disposed and the proof is in the pudding. Those who were entrusted to safeguard the Guyanese people assets should be made to account for their stewardship.
At this time, we understand that herculean efforts are being furthered to bring the closed estates back to life. Indeed, serious and dedicated efforts are required to rehabilitate the fields, clear the clogged drainage canals, repair the abandoned infrastructure and thoroughly service the factories. We know of the skill, knowledge and commitment of the sugar workers and are confident that those estates will roar back to life.
It is most vexatious therefore to see commentaries and statements emanating from some leading members of the political opposition. We have seen them using all manner of phrases and terms to denounce the Government’s support to the sugar industry. We noticed too what we consider the vile and derogatory expressions to describe the sugar industry. In as much as we are disturbed we cannot say we are surprised. The bile that has emanated from those quarters in as much as it is disappointing is not unexpected. We have seen up close the venom they have for the sugar workers and the industry. We have witnessed firsthand the hardships they inflicted and the punishment they meted out while holding the reins of Government. And, we know all too well of their desire to rid Guyana of the sugar industry as they seek to satisfy narrow political motives while ignoring the well-being of the nation and its people. Indeed, it was that pea-brained logic that found the ship of State in rough waters, the foreign reserves disappearing, the gold reserves vanishing and the country in heavy overdraft.
