The Ministry of Agriculture announced on Tuesday that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has been armed with a new Board of Directors.
Those persons are Mr. Madanlall Ramraj, Mr. Jairam Petam, Mr. Mohamed Raffik, Mr. Roy Hanoman Singh, Ms. Shaleeza Shaw, Mr. Tarachand Balgobin, Ms. Shameera Evans, Mr. Desmond Sears, Mr. Vishnu Panday, Mr. Paul Cheong, Mr. Ramnarayan Rupan, and Mr. Aslim Singh.
The Directors also met with the subject minister, Zulfikar Mustapha following Cabinet’s no objection to their appointment.
During the brief meeting, Minister Mustapha told the new Board Members that the revitalization and modernization of Guyana’s sugar industry must remain a priority, as it is for the government. He charged them to do their best in implementing policies that will fast-track the sector’s growth.
Minister Mustapha also said that it is important that they keep a direct line of communication with the estates’ management team. He also encouraged the members to maintain effective cooperation and professionalism as the ultimate goal of the Board is to ensure the industry regains viability.
At the end of June 2022, the government contributed $2 billion to GuySuCo to advance to support the smooth operation of the industry. Works were undertaken at the factories at Albion, Blairmont, Uitvlugt and Rose Hall.
Improvements to the Albion Estate included the upgrading of a knife turbine, the replacement of mill rollers, and an overhaul of one of the main diesel generators.
At Blairmont, the crushers and mill rollers are being replaced, and the sugar wharf is being rehabilitated. Works at Uitvlugt included the replacement of the feeder table and the rehabilitation of a boiler. At Rose Hall, complete rehabilitation of the factory is being undertaken. Further, works were advanced for the conversion of the fields for machine harvesting and rehabilitation of the access dams at all four of the estates.
Furthermore, a total of 1,238 persons were employed by GuySuCo at Skeldon, Rose Hall and Enmore over the period from August 2020 to June 2022. Of this number, 922 were re-employed personnel and 316 were new hires.
Additionally, about 1,400 employees of Uitvlugt Estate received cash grants to supplement their reduced income, which resulted from mechanical failure at the factory during the first crop of 2022. This support initiative cost government $275.6 million.
