Dear Editor Anand Persaud
Donald Ramoutar wants to be the next President of Guyana. Fair Enough. Everyone can aspire to be the President of a nation. But what has been Donald Ramotar’s legacy?
1. Earning mega bucks as a member of the Omai Gold Mines Board while that company did not pay its fair share of taxes to Guyana and whose operation was the cause of a major environmental disaster a few years ago with inadequate compensation to the people most affected – the Amerindians.
2. A bankrupt Guysuco which relies on cash injection from the Government and is unable to service its debt or honour its financial obligations. Donald Ramoutar sat on Guysuco’s board for the last 18 years as the industry withered away into a failed institution. Donald wants to be the President of an entire country and could not save a single industry with any bright idea or ideas. Guysuco, under Ramoutar’s rein, got rid of the Booker Tate Management team and failed to replace it with adequate number of professionals who are skilled to attack the challenges facing the corporation.
Ramoutar’s out of the box idea involved blaming the weather and sugar workers for the problems Guysuco found itself in and his solution was to position himself as the clone of the “chief cuss bird” in defense of his unfortunate record of achievement. Guyana is a tropical country and the weather will always be a challenge for Guysuco. It is not an excuse for poor production. Jock Campbell mitigated for it in the Bookers days, why could the Ramotar board not mitigate for it today? El Nino and La Nina were two seasons. What happened after that and before that? The reality; Ramoutar is unable to think outside of his box, his skill set is now manifested into a legacy that is well aligned to his political sponsor; the current President – cuss out and blame everyone else but themselves for the mess Guysuco is in.
Guysuco has been struggling because of inadequate yield management, inefficient factories, and very poor cost control and these factors will bring Guysuco to its knees, if not addressed urgently. The PPP’s historical legacy has been the cane burning gangs unleashed by the Tsarina of the PPP during the Burnham administration to undermine our country and when they are in-charge, gross incompetence and mal-administration which puts all freedom fighter pre 1992 to shame; what were we and our ancestors fought for; this “goat bite them” Government? What the PPP has not done is brought any significant ideas to fruition that will save the sugar belt. The PPP has lost its focus and its leadership has forgotten the needs of the very people whose support their rely on to stay in power. Greed by a few, widespread dishonesty in the ruling cabal and a pervasive rent-seeking attitude of their business buddies are working against progress in not just Guysuco but every sphere of Guyana. Where is Donald Ramotar in all of this? Right in the middle, knocking glass with his business buddies as they all live off the sweat of the working people. Can we honestly tabulate how much income Ramoutar has made from the boards he has sat and failed to adequately serve the people? Can we honestly put another incompetent to sit in New Garden Street to draw more taxpayer’s money for services not rendered? Can we honestly say Donald Ramoutar is good for Guyana? That he can deliver on Cheddi Jagan’s humble dream of sharing the economic pie of the nation to all of the people?
Guysuco will be a primary 2011 elections issue and the corporation will face intense public scrutiny. Can this Ramotar board rise to the challenge and turn the industry around in such a short possible time? This government has not had a legacy of delivering on anything but it is commendable that the Hon. Minister of Agriculture has granted permission for chartered accountant Christopher Ram to do the forensic audit of Guysuco. This audit if allowed to go ahead will provide the Ramotar board with strategic information that can address the real bottlenecks stifling the growth and success of the industry. But then one wonders. Is it in Ramotar’s strategic financial interest to clean up the mess at Guysuco? Chris Ram, hopefully, should be asking to see the financial records for the corporation for the past 10 years especially the detailed cash flow statements and trail balance to clearly identify where the cash went in the industry. It is crucially important to frame the problem in cash terms rather than something nebulous or vague, like the culture, the structure or the processes. Every decision going forward must be anchored in the cash flow statement. From the cane cutter to the CEO, all must all be singularly focused on minimizing the cash outflow without compromising the industry. That is why when Guysuco used its trucks to ferry and feed the people attending the circus at Babu John; they are totally disrespecting the value structure of Dr Jagan, and were throwing good money after a bad cause. Cash wastage like this adds up and contributes to the strangulation of the industry.
The Alliance for Change (AFC) is prepared to take decisive steps to rescue the sugar industry. Guysuco will continue to face human resource constraints unless addressed. The AFC will hire professional managers to address the managerial deficiencies at the estates. Additionally, AFC will mechanize incrementally the operations so as to address the shortfall in the recurring workforce for the estates. The supply of human sugar cane harvesters is dwindling as less persons are willing to seek a future on the estate. We will produce a cadre of human cane harvesters who will be retrained to operate mechanized cane harvesters as we incrementally convert the Roman-Dutch beds to facilitate mechanization. Bottom line for the people in the sugar belt - less work, more pay and a more efficient production system.
Guysuco needs to improve efficiency in converting cane to sugar. One would expect that the cost/revenue per estate data will be used by the current management to increase efficiencies at all levels. The AFC believes that the revenue per employee on the Demerara Estate can be upped with an E-10 ethanol plan which will translate into more money for Guysuco, less imports for Guyana, and an overall positive impact on the balance of payment of the nation. Not rocket science and surely within the capacity of Ramoutar’s understanding, after all they claimed he is a trained Economist. Inefficient factories need to be addressed and Central Government should fund as a one-off the rehabilitation of all the loss making factories to cut out non-value added processes to further slash cost. Parliament needs to approve such expenditure upon justification and not just scoop out billions from the treasure without explanation as is the PPP now well-establish modus operandi.
It is the AFC’s vision to make Guysuco the BMW of sugar companies globally. Our vision is to increase our cane driven bio-fuel production, fix the factories, sort the production process from cane to sugar/ethanol and diversify the industry so that every single cost centre is clearly linked to a revenue stream that is greater than the associated cost. Yes it can be done. The key is doing the forensic audit and finding the sweet spots. But then again will Donald Ramotar want a forensic audit from of all person a highly skilled accountant like Chris Ram?
Regards
Sasenarine Singh
Donald Ramoutar wants to be the next President of Guyana. Fair Enough. Everyone can aspire to be the President of a nation. But what has been Donald Ramotar’s legacy?
1. Earning mega bucks as a member of the Omai Gold Mines Board while that company did not pay its fair share of taxes to Guyana and whose operation was the cause of a major environmental disaster a few years ago with inadequate compensation to the people most affected – the Amerindians.
2. A bankrupt Guysuco which relies on cash injection from the Government and is unable to service its debt or honour its financial obligations. Donald Ramoutar sat on Guysuco’s board for the last 18 years as the industry withered away into a failed institution. Donald wants to be the President of an entire country and could not save a single industry with any bright idea or ideas. Guysuco, under Ramoutar’s rein, got rid of the Booker Tate Management team and failed to replace it with adequate number of professionals who are skilled to attack the challenges facing the corporation.
Ramoutar’s out of the box idea involved blaming the weather and sugar workers for the problems Guysuco found itself in and his solution was to position himself as the clone of the “chief cuss bird” in defense of his unfortunate record of achievement. Guyana is a tropical country and the weather will always be a challenge for Guysuco. It is not an excuse for poor production. Jock Campbell mitigated for it in the Bookers days, why could the Ramotar board not mitigate for it today? El Nino and La Nina were two seasons. What happened after that and before that? The reality; Ramoutar is unable to think outside of his box, his skill set is now manifested into a legacy that is well aligned to his political sponsor; the current President – cuss out and blame everyone else but themselves for the mess Guysuco is in.
Guysuco has been struggling because of inadequate yield management, inefficient factories, and very poor cost control and these factors will bring Guysuco to its knees, if not addressed urgently. The PPP’s historical legacy has been the cane burning gangs unleashed by the Tsarina of the PPP during the Burnham administration to undermine our country and when they are in-charge, gross incompetence and mal-administration which puts all freedom fighter pre 1992 to shame; what were we and our ancestors fought for; this “goat bite them” Government? What the PPP has not done is brought any significant ideas to fruition that will save the sugar belt. The PPP has lost its focus and its leadership has forgotten the needs of the very people whose support their rely on to stay in power. Greed by a few, widespread dishonesty in the ruling cabal and a pervasive rent-seeking attitude of their business buddies are working against progress in not just Guysuco but every sphere of Guyana. Where is Donald Ramotar in all of this? Right in the middle, knocking glass with his business buddies as they all live off the sweat of the working people. Can we honestly tabulate how much income Ramoutar has made from the boards he has sat and failed to adequately serve the people? Can we honestly put another incompetent to sit in New Garden Street to draw more taxpayer’s money for services not rendered? Can we honestly say Donald Ramoutar is good for Guyana? That he can deliver on Cheddi Jagan’s humble dream of sharing the economic pie of the nation to all of the people?
Guysuco will be a primary 2011 elections issue and the corporation will face intense public scrutiny. Can this Ramotar board rise to the challenge and turn the industry around in such a short possible time? This government has not had a legacy of delivering on anything but it is commendable that the Hon. Minister of Agriculture has granted permission for chartered accountant Christopher Ram to do the forensic audit of Guysuco. This audit if allowed to go ahead will provide the Ramotar board with strategic information that can address the real bottlenecks stifling the growth and success of the industry. But then one wonders. Is it in Ramotar’s strategic financial interest to clean up the mess at Guysuco? Chris Ram, hopefully, should be asking to see the financial records for the corporation for the past 10 years especially the detailed cash flow statements and trail balance to clearly identify where the cash went in the industry. It is crucially important to frame the problem in cash terms rather than something nebulous or vague, like the culture, the structure or the processes. Every decision going forward must be anchored in the cash flow statement. From the cane cutter to the CEO, all must all be singularly focused on minimizing the cash outflow without compromising the industry. That is why when Guysuco used its trucks to ferry and feed the people attending the circus at Babu John; they are totally disrespecting the value structure of Dr Jagan, and were throwing good money after a bad cause. Cash wastage like this adds up and contributes to the strangulation of the industry.
The Alliance for Change (AFC) is prepared to take decisive steps to rescue the sugar industry. Guysuco will continue to face human resource constraints unless addressed. The AFC will hire professional managers to address the managerial deficiencies at the estates. Additionally, AFC will mechanize incrementally the operations so as to address the shortfall in the recurring workforce for the estates. The supply of human sugar cane harvesters is dwindling as less persons are willing to seek a future on the estate. We will produce a cadre of human cane harvesters who will be retrained to operate mechanized cane harvesters as we incrementally convert the Roman-Dutch beds to facilitate mechanization. Bottom line for the people in the sugar belt - less work, more pay and a more efficient production system.
Guysuco needs to improve efficiency in converting cane to sugar. One would expect that the cost/revenue per estate data will be used by the current management to increase efficiencies at all levels. The AFC believes that the revenue per employee on the Demerara Estate can be upped with an E-10 ethanol plan which will translate into more money for Guysuco, less imports for Guyana, and an overall positive impact on the balance of payment of the nation. Not rocket science and surely within the capacity of Ramoutar’s understanding, after all they claimed he is a trained Economist. Inefficient factories need to be addressed and Central Government should fund as a one-off the rehabilitation of all the loss making factories to cut out non-value added processes to further slash cost. Parliament needs to approve such expenditure upon justification and not just scoop out billions from the treasure without explanation as is the PPP now well-establish modus operandi.
It is the AFC’s vision to make Guysuco the BMW of sugar companies globally. Our vision is to increase our cane driven bio-fuel production, fix the factories, sort the production process from cane to sugar/ethanol and diversify the industry so that every single cost centre is clearly linked to a revenue stream that is greater than the associated cost. Yes it can be done. The key is doing the forensic audit and finding the sweet spots. But then again will Donald Ramotar want a forensic audit from of all person a highly skilled accountant like Chris Ram?
Regards
Sasenarine Singh
