Eight India consultants hired to rescue GuySuCo… Economic Services Committee to probe progress of this move - Greenidge
October 13, 2014, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source - Kaieteur News
In December 2013, officials of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) had disclosed that it hired eight consultants from India to “perform a quick miracle” on the ailing sugar industry. However, according to the political opposition, it’s almost the end of the year, and the company does not seem to be showing any sign of possible recovery, given the millions of dollars in bail out money it has received.
Further, when some members of the GuySuCo Board and its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Rajendra Singh faced the Parliamentary Economic Services Committee earlier this year, they were mum on the move and how, if it did at all, serve to improve the industry or be integral to its turnaround plan.
Carl Greenidge
With a glaring track record of unsatisfactory performance, and a Board of Directors, often described to be “incompetent” by the political opposition, it is now a major bother as to what became of the huge sums of taxpayers’ dollars which were spent on the “miracle workers” last year December.
Chairman of the Economic Services Committee, Carl Greenidge said, “It would be interesting to know what became of these experts they brought from India…What their performance has been like and was there any improvement in the positions they were given to hold. Why wasn’t the Economics Services Committee aware of this move? These are all serious questions. Rest assured that the Committee will get to the bottom of this.”
During another brief interview, this time with Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy yesterday, he said that he is not sure that the company in anyway indicated that the eight consultants were to rescue the sugar company. “I had said during the budget debate that eight technical experts are working alongside GuySuCo professionals to improve certain aspects of GuySuCo operation.”
However, this publication made contact with several board members who informed that they were prohibited from speaking on this matter and that all inquiries should be put to the Board’s former Chairman, Dr. Raj Singh. They claimed that the details of the arrangement were not open to them. Calls to Singh yesterday proved futile.
Last year this newspaper was informed that an expert team, comprising of eight consultants from India would have been hired to take charge of the eight estates operating in Demerara and Berbice. One GuySuCo official however explained that “an inordinate amount of money was expended on the specialized team. But I don’t have the figures of payment at this point.”
Kaieteur News was told that the deal had been worked out with Integrated Casetech Consultants (P) Limited, an Indian management firm to overlook the operations of the estates. Casetech is a sister company of Simbhaoli, said to be India’s largest integrated sugar refinery.
A union official had also stated that the decision to hire overseas expertise without consultation is an indication of how GuySuCo’s Board of Directors has been making decisions.
Agriculture Minister
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
The official said, “This is an industry that has been spinning out of control and has 16,000 workers depending on it. Decisions are being taken with little input and we are only told after it is a done deal. We cannot continue to run this country this way.”
When GuySuCo officials last met with the Economic Services Committee in July, they had informed the committee that their current cost of production was US 0.34cents a pound and by 2017, the price will come down to US$ 0.24 cents a pound.
But this only sparked much debate in several sections of the “bitter sugar politics” arena since that cost was argued to be substantially more than the US 0.17 cents per pound which is today’s global price for sugar production.
Sugar expert, Anthony Vieira had lamented that bailing GuySuCo out of debt can become a perennial norm, rather than a few tranches of cash to help them to mechanize, and subsidies from the consolidated fund, to become self-sufficient in time.
In view of the varying discrepancies in the presentation by GuySuCo to parliament, which he had highlighted at length, Vieira had said that there should be a full investigation by some sort of commission into the workings of this industry, since it is clear that the picture presented to the highest forum in the land, the Guyana Parliament, was seriously distorted and was, as is now usual for GuySuCo, long on optimism and short on realism.
“Especially since the business of this corporation, which is asking the taxpayers of this country to subsidize it, is run in total secrecy. Even senior managers are terrified of giving out any information whatsoever on its functioning,” he had stated.
With Shaik Baksh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Inc. being appointed as GuySuCo’s new Chairman while past members were retained, Agriculture Minister Dr. Ramsammy had asserted that with this in mind and the company being off to a promising start, the corporation should have no difficulties in meeting and even exceeding the 216,000 tonnes target for 2014.
It was also reported that the eight sugar estates and seven factories across the country are all operating, and that this represents a continuation of the good performance of the first grinding season.
Ramsammy had explained that in spite of some heavy rains in areas such as Skeldon, performance continues to be good up to this point and favourable weather is expected in the coming months.
As it stands, GuySuCo has to generate a production of 138,000 tonnes in this second crop to meet the 216,000 tonnes 2014 target.
Source - http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....ogress-of-this-move/
I am up to no good today.
