APNU/AFC Gov’t ducks debate with PPP
– workers protest outside Parliament.
By Devina Samaroo and Alexis Rodney.
House Speaker Dr Barton Scotland sparked further public outrage when he rejected a motion presented by the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) to have a debate on the Government’s closure of the Wales Sugar Estate.
Sugar workers protesting outside Parliament on Thursday
PPP/C Member of Parliament Komal Chand rose before the National Assembly on Thursday to present the motion to have a debate on the issue in light of the immense public fury the announcement has generated in the past few days.
Chand, who incidentally is the Head of the Guyana General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) emphasised that the impending closure will create a rippling effect, not only on the sugar workers and their families but on the thousands of people in the communities and will eventually have immeasurable damage to the economy.
He then underscored the importance of having the motion debated, noting that the livelihood of thousands of Guyanese are at stake.
The House Speaker in response to the motion presented, explained that for such requests to be granted, it must underline three critical elements: the issue must be definite, it must hold public importance and it must be urgent.
Dr Scotland conceded that the motion put forward indeed was a definite issue and has generated much public interest however he did not believe that the matter was urgent.
On that note, the Speaker declared that the motion is disallowed.
Resolute to have the motion debated, Opposition Members rose to their feet in accordance to Standing Order 12 (3) (b) which states if the Speaker’s approval is not given, then at least 18 elected members can stand in support of the request made.
Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira explained, “the motion shall stand over until 5pm the same day and at that time any proceedings on which the Assembly is engaged shall be postponed until the motion for the adjournment is disposed of or until 9pm.”
Teixeira also contended that the matter cannot simply be left until December 2016 before it can be deemed urgent.
Notwithstanding, the House Speaker maintained his ruling. He pointed out that the Standing Order (3) (b) can only take effect if the Speaker is so satisfied.
Against this backdrop, the Speaker reiterated that the motion was disallowed and the matter of the closure of the Wales Sugar Estate will not be up for debate within the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, Chand in an invited comment expressed that it is most disappointing that the Speaker did not approve the matter for discussion.
Responding to the Speaker’s pronouncement that the matter is not urgent, Chand said, “May I point out that the matter is most urgent in that immediate steps have been taken since the Ministry issued the statement announcing the closure. For example, since the announcement, approximately 800 acres of tilled land is left abandoned as the planting of canes I not permitted and allowed.”
He also pointed out that the Guyana Sugar Corporation GuySuCo has already moved the ploughing machines assigned to Wales Estate to Uitvlugt.”
Sugar workers protest
A raucous crowd of Wales Estate Sugar Workers on Thursday protested outside Parliament building calling on Government to rescind its decision to close the operations of the Wales Sugar Estate.
The crowd using placards, called on Government to reconsider its decision, which they say will have dire consequences on themselves, their families and the very community.
The contention is that government has made an irrational decision in its move to close operations of the estate.
Former President Bharat Jagdeo, who met with the sugar workers outside Parliament, said that the entire country was surprised at the decision by the government.
“They themselves said that they will send this to the Economic Service Committee, but they moved so in the dark of the night to swiftly announce this closure. The whole country was surprised. We thought that they would have waited until the closure of the discussion of the report”, he told the crowd that encircled him.
He said sugar remains a viable product in this country, and wish that Government can see this too.
“I believe that sugar has made a significant contribution to this country over the years. It is now going through a difficult period. The state needs to stand by Sugar. You cannot do a financial rate of return alone. You have to make an economic rate of return and the profitabilityof every estate. Sugar means more than profitability”, the Opposition leader said.
He posited that with the injection of small amounts of money, the industry can survive and production of the Wales Estate, among others could be revived. In the meantime, he said it is unsafe to close any estate, because of the significant impact it has on people and the community
“What is good is that the commission of Inquiry said no closure of any Estate, because they believe that sugar can be viable in Guyana. We in the PPP are willing to work with them to raise monies internationally for these estates… I hope that good sense will prevail and that they would come up”, he noted.
Jagdeo pointed to the situation in which existed in the bauxite industry some years ago, when it was in deep trouble for some 20 years. According to him, the then government did not move to shut it down because a community depended on it. “That is why the CoI said we cannot shut down any estate because it is more than just financial profitability. We have to work to get every estate back to a stage where they are at least break and even and I believe that with the injection of small amount of money we can get it back on stream.”
He added, “But in the meantime, we cannot close down any estate because of its impact of people and the community. So at this time, sugar is going through a difficult patch and we made it clear that we will help it go through this time. And it is not about PNC PPP, this is about people’s lives”.
The protest by sugar workers in front of Parliament followed another such at the Wales Estate earlier in the day. There, similar calls were made by the sugar workers for Government to provide answers, and to meet them half way in the process.
The two protests also followed meetings with executives of the Guyana Sugar Corporation on Wednesday, where, according to President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) Komal Chand, it did nothing to appease the growing uncertainties of sugar workers.
Chand told Guyana Times that the Guysuco delegation appeared clueless about fate of the more that 1600 workers.
Government made an official announcement Monday that it was moving to close the Wales Sugar Estate.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, it acknowledged that there is need for investment to ‘refurbish’ the estate and that the figures for this remain significantly high.
However, “the finances are simply not available” and diverting funds from the other estates to keep Wales afloat would “seriously jeopardise the future of these estates
Ministry stated that there was a “gloomy outlook” for sugar prices in the foreseeable future and the Wales Estate has been projected to make a loss of $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion this year.
According to GAWU President, the protest is just one means sugar workers will be using to seek Government’s assistance.
“They felt that they will work in the community and gather the residents to seek their support because persons in the community some of them are pensioners receiving pension from the estate, the milkman, the tailor, the butcher all depend on the workers’ income,” he said
He explained that there will also be two petitions to President Granger: one from the community itself, and one from the workers.
