I honest believe this man (Raj Singh) should be call to account for his actions.

He is playing games with the lives of 16,000 families - over 70,000 people.

Well, the PPP from inception cursed the sugar industry. It is no wonder it has failed under their watch.

It might not be a bad thing for the industry to be temporary closed and a thorough review undertaken.

So far, there are complaints about the skedon Factory. Perhaps, cultivation might be a problem as well.

For years now I suspect the industry was in trouble. I tried doing business the MCD. I wasn't impressed with their process.

The Industry needs to have people on board who knows what to do.

Raj Singh should be fired and be sent back to New Jersey where he belong. I don't understand why its so difficult to address this problem especially when 16,000 livelihood is at stake.

The workers needs to be be more assertive. Instead, they blindly follow the PPP. I have arrived at the conclusion, that the sugar worker care more about keeping Jagdeo and his band of crooks in power than looking after their own interests.  

Yu need one good braadside pon yuh backside.  You insult abie canecuttahs!

We nah know that. Under normal circumstances if a cane cutter was robbed like that he would chop you up. But for some reason not one seems to have complained about the loss of his own money. Either they don't listen to the news, or they can't read the newspapers. Maybe now that the Chronicle start writing the truth, the canecutters think it is lying in favour of the new goverenment?

Fiscal irresponsibility should not be allowed by oversight boards nor by a majority opposition. The problem is that the opposition were more focused in slinging mud at Jagdeo rather than looking at financial statements.

Mr Singh has done an exceptional job since taking office.Many of his detractors such as those nimakharams in New Jersey and Queens aided by a two bit former estate owner in Guyana have been pushing fire even before it was officially announced that he was the new Guysuco's CEO.

Guysuco's problem is not the CEO but the culture of corruption that has existed since the Burnham days.A culture of rampant shakedown that starts with the poor canecutter who has to pay the field official to keep his work.Every payday you can see this shakedown at the payoffice.This type of shakedown goes right up to the estate managers who get the biggest dhare of the loot.Unless something is done to curb this criminal act then Guysuco will not progress .Similarly the procurement section need an overhaul.Many expensive line items  are for private use.Many items such as fertilisers,machinery and machine parts are ordered ans then resold back to Guysuco.Many expensive items such as fertiliser and machinery are further resold to the public.The finances of all of the estate managers need to be looked into for possible criminal practices.

Mr Singh has taken over from a set of extremely corrupt chairmen and CEOs.The previous executive used Guysuco to push his private business'How he acquired so much land and machinery while the CEO is questionable.Land acquired on Guysuco property,land in the rupununi ,going on supposedly Guysuco's business but later found was much to do with his private business interests.

Since Mr Singh  took over the mantle of a dysfunctional and corrupt corporation he has implemented new business structures and methods,has established new markets for sugar and contrary to moutars such as Tony Vieira and the aforementioned nemakharams in the US ,sugar production has increased,less work stoppage etc.

Nemhakarams such as Carpen,Jadopat and Soobrian the US have waged a war against Mr Raj Singh through their own attempt at commandeering the PPP supporters in the US.Sour grapes.

We own Potagee Vieira (one third) in Guyana with the help of stabroek new has also waged war against Mr Singh.He wants that job of CEO badly although his only claim to fame was a field man in a two bit estate.Given a chance he may one day tell Grainger that he can run President better.

Grainger better look out.

I hear the chief nemakhram saysing that he will close doen Guysuco but he was the man who told the sugar workers during the previous elections campaighn that he will increase their salaries by 30 percent.Talk about soup drinker.The man is shameless.No woner his own family didnt vote for him.

Close down Guysuco then what?.What will happen to all the thousands of low paid canecutters,people that get paid during the harvest season and use their money to tie them and family over for the rest of the year.

The same people who are shouting close Guysuco must remeber that although poor the canecutter community have produced many individuals that went on to become doctors and lawyers and shone in many other profesions.

Guysuco has a promising future but many issues need to be urgently addresses.

George DaSilva.

Sugar may need $16b to stay afloat

By Staff Writer On May 29, 2015 @ 5:25 am In Local News

Yep.

I used to work in the sugar industry. It would be sad to see it fail. Bookers gave me a good start in life.

Perennial problem in places like Guyana, looking for excuses and not solutions.

Now, I did not realize "Burnham" dead hands were pulling the string from behind in this long entrenched PPP Govt.  Alyuh should have highlighted that during your campaign, Blacks would have flooded to the polls putting the "X" next to the cup.

Never hear such nonsense.  A sorry-ass excuse for incompetence.

Bookers owned Guyana. Maybe independence was not such a good idea!

Is weh you bin all diss time bai, remember, massa day done.

It was doing great under Bookers.

"SUGAR"  www.timehritoday.blogspot.com

Alyuh funny, and the Shah of Iran was king of Persia.

LISTEN CAREFULLY MR DASILVA:

1) I am the product of a canecutter family. My dad worked all his life in the sugar industry. The sugar industry is a brutal labor-intensive industry which pays sugar workers pittances for their hard labor. Workers get up at 4AM, sometimes getting home at 7PM. Unless this system is mechanized, it will tie the workers (mostly Indians) to the industry as slaves and make them chattels.

2) Sugar workers deserve better, like working a regular job, in an air conditioned office, etc, like others. More importantly, they need to be educated and brought into the modern world. Sugar is not going to do this for them. In places like Brazil and Trinidad, more so, diversification was the way to go. Trinidad had given the workers the land so they can make something of themselves.

3) Yes, the PPP did use the workers as a vote bank. They never wanted to consider any other plan except pumping money into the Skeldon estate and blaming lower productivity and world marker prices for a failure of the industry. It does not matter at this stage who says what, PPP or coalition. We need to fix this problem. CLOSING OR DIVERSIFICATION HAS TO BE SERIOUSLY EXPLORED.

4) Raj Singh should not have been imported to head the industry. He lives in New Jersey and was in charge of the ACG (PPP group) there. He is a very close friend of Donald Ramotar, who recruited him into this position. I know this for a fact.

5) People like you, with your partisan view, make it difficult to find a solution to this problem. You need to have an open mind....lets start by admitting that the industry is a failing one in Guyana...and lets not call people names like "nemakharams" and make this a political issue, more than it already has been.  

Hey hey, alyuh canecuttah hero leader, the late great Dr Cheddie B Jagan, just loved it that way.

They were not slaves to the sugar industry but slaves to the great loser Dr Jagan ideological morass and his inept and corrupt descendents huddled in the inner core of the PPP ruling clan.  On the bright side, maybe the PNC treat them better as they (PNC) will not want to be accused of "racism".

DaSilva makes it sound like Raj Singh just walked into Guysuco the other day.

I agree. Even Cheddi used them as a vote bank.

He should be Jailed

Nah nah nah, one cannot be jailed for incompetence.

Haslyn Parris. My fear is they might give him the job again. Or possibly to Norang Persaud-which will also a mistake. AFC is favored of Norang Persaud.

It is true of the PNC era. Lack of foreign exchange drove the industry into cannibalism. Forcing a lot of estates to close down.

<input id="SMARTInk_zoom_42A26EBF-1637-4CC0-952D-BE37F629742C" type="hidden" value="1.25" />

No not Haslyn Paris it was a Dr something.

However wasnt Haslyn Paris who got beaten up in Congress Place after a previous elections when the PPP won?He commented that the elections was free and fair.Dont think that he is well remembered.I heard that he runs a rumshop near Buxton.

Yes, he did get beatup.

My reply to George...there were errors in the last post...

OK George, I seem to have caught your attention here.

I do not see anything new in your original missive, or in mine for that matter. Your point regarding the workers inability to use the new equipment confirms my point. Sugar workers are “lumpen elements” and the uneducated, unskilled workers must be trained to use those new equipment. We live in a highly technological world.  

This issue IS a political football. Even you are doing so here with the curt reference to GECOM.  I do not care what happen under Burnham or Cheddi, we must look ahead. Politicians, whether on the coalition or PPP side must address the issue: I still say close it or diversify. And George, the name calling (nemakharams) is not helpful.

The government needs to form a committee of intelligent minds (not political minds) to study this problem and come up with solutions. However, the workers must be involved in the process from the get go and their input must be solicited so that they can understand the final decision that is made regarding the industry.

George, I do not know you from a hole in the wall, but I take it in good faith that you also want to FIX this problem. If facts are what is needed, a study must be commissioned and the options must be laid bare for the government to select the best option.

Vish

Ulele says that she is confused.  She thought that her father died 30 years ago, but yet every thing wrong with Guyana is blamed on him.

Why is the PPP not at all embarrassed by admitting that people who were kids in the Burnham era are to blame for corrupt behavior.   Where would they have learned this from?  By the time they began to work for Guysuco, Burnham had died long before.

The system just continued the way Burnham had it set up. The PPP juss as a bad as Forbes. THey loved Forbes constitution and Forbes corrupt ways of doing things.

The Agriculture Minister told Stabroek News that “this isn’t like last time. Last year it was a line item, a line item in the budget. It is ridiculous you can’t just come get $6B on a single line item, no breakdowns.”

Like Raj still think he under the PPP pop government?

They think they gon hide behind LFSB jhumbie for ever.  Now jhumbie deh pun dem.

Dem boys can't read financial statements...I would love to see Granger reading one and explaining one line...

You mean like Burnham who thought Accumulated Depreciation was "Funds in the Bank" to purchase new assets.  He demanded Demba transfer the money to the national treasury.

Granger is better, he is married to someone from a business family and Dominic is a Finance guy.

"

As of June last year, GuySuCo’s debt was at a whopping $58b equivalent to 31.6% of the 2014 National Budget."

so this this has been an ongoing problem, and the deficit is plugged by moving funds or loans from other agencies.  

Communist Accounting practices, DDR!!

How long before Raj Singh is fired?

I will give it 2 months.

Hope the Guysuco Board is fired by next week.  Go for it Bro. Mose.

This has to be a phased thing.  The board has to go now.