Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 21, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
There were four possible profitable alternatives to the closure of the Wales Estate. It is disappointing that this estate is going to be closed under a GUYSUCO Chairman who has for decades now been arguing for diversification of the sugar industry and who pointed to the many products which could have been produced from sugar and sugar cane.
Wales Estate, to be honest, is not ever in a healthy state. The cost of maintaining the factory is prohibitive. The lands are overworked; the workforce is diminishing; mechanization of the fields will be too costly and will be a gamble considering all of the aforementioned factors.
Wales had to come out of sugar production. When it comes to the chopping block, this is the first estate that was likely to be closed. But it would have been better for the sugar corporation to have considered two viable alternatives before moving towards closing down the estate altogether.
The first of those options would have been privatization with preference being given to investors who would continue the factory. It is indeed callous that a decision to close was taken without considering this option of trying to attract an investor for the factory.
Sugar is still being produced in Caribbean countries like Jamaica. One of the byproducts of sugar is molasses. An investor from Jamaica could have been enticed to come to Guyana to produce sugar from which molasses would be obtain which would feed into a small distillery or which can be exported.
A variant of this option would have been to try to get an investor for the factory and sell out the cane lands of the coops and private individuals who are already planting canes. If these private farmers were losing money, they would not be planting. They are not making a jewel or a crown, either, but enough to keep them going year after year.
They therefore would have been interested in buying the lands owned by GUYSUCO at Wales because these lands are better drained and maintained that their own lands and would have allowed them to expand cultivation, and make more money. A lot of the can harvesters work for private farmers
These farmers are now in a quandary. They have made significant investments which are now likely to collapse. It will be feasible for them to move their production to Leonora. That is unprofitable. The closure of Wales means dark days for non-Guysuco cultivation of cane.
The second option would have been to establish an ethanol plant. GUYSUCO is already doing some experimental work on producing ethanol at Albion. This would have been an option to consider given the large population at Wales and its contiguous villages when compared to Albion where the population is declining and which enjoys very good TC/TS ratios.
The third alternative was suggested from a supporter of APNU some time ago. That proposal was to convert the lands into fish ponds and to have the same workers retrained to operate these ponds.
This could have been done via a public private partnership. It would have seen the closure of the factory but would have saved jobs for the field workers and create new jobs in packaging and processing of the fish.
The final option would have been to sell the industry to the workers and let decide what to do with it. This can still take place and it is hoped that the lands would not be diverted into non- agricultural purposes.
Wales is not the first estate to be closed in recent time. Diamond estate was closed and severance paid to the workers. Unlike what certain social media news sites are reporting, the PPP did not close many estates during its term.
It merged LBI with Enmore similar to what was done under the PNC with Uitvlugt and Leonora.
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