Dear Editor,
PLEASE allow me to share some information and remind my brothers and sisters of what truly occurred within the sugar industry.
I will not go back to the distant past, but instead deal with the reality that people, especially young people, need to know about the sugar industry, particularly since sugar workers were misled in 2015 by the PNC and AFC coalition government.
Leading up to the 2015 General and Regional Elections, sugar workers and their families were promised a better life. The APNU+AFC coalition repeatedly claimed that if elected they would make the sugar industry profitable again and improve the welfare of workers.
Moses Nagamootoo led that charge, loudly accusing the PPP of not caring about sugar workers and promising that under an AFC and PNC government, workers would enjoy a good life. Many others echoed the same sentiments during the campaign trail, including myself, not realising that the coalition had plans that would devastate the industry and thousands of families.
Between 2015 and 2020, the APNU+AFC government closed several sugar estates, including Wales, Rose Hall, East Demerara and Skeldon. More than 7,000 sugar workers lost their jobs directly, while thousands more who depended on the industry for transportation, vending, farming and small businesses were also severely affected.
The closure of estates destroyed livelihoods across sugar-dependent communities. Families struggled to put food on the table, children suffered, and many workers were forced into hardship and migration in search of employment. Starvation and suffering became the reality for many former sugar workers and their families.
The coalition government promised diversification and alternative employment, but many of those promises never materialised. Instead, entire communities were abandoned while the industry was pushed into decline.
Today, the same people who presided over the destruction of the sugar industry are attempting to lecture the PPP government on management and workers’ welfare.
Under the PPP/C government since 2020, thousands of workers have been rehired and several estates have resumed operations. Investments were made to reopen Rose Hall Estate and revive production in other areas. The government also restored severance payments owed to workers and continued support for communities that depend on sugar.
No one is saying the industry does not have challenges. Sugar remains a major industry with long-standing problems, and many of those issues cannot be solved overnight. However, there is a clear difference between a government trying to rebuild the industry and one that deliberately dismantled it.
Between 2015 and 2020, workers could hardly raise their voices without fear. Ministers of the former government showed little concern for the plight of sugar workers and their families. Workers felt abandoned.
Under the current PPP/C administration, workers at least have a government and a Minister of Agriculture who listens to their concerns and engages with them directly. Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has consistently met with workers, unions and management in an effort to address issues affecting the industry.
While management problems still exist within GuySuCo, and production targets are sometimes not met, those shortcomings cannot be placed solely at the feet of the government. Some members of management must also accept responsibility for inefficiency and poor decision-making.
Today, we are again seeing opposition elements attempting to use sugar workers for political gain. Recently, Gobin Harbhajan of the WIN party sought to exploit unrest within the industry despite having little experience or understanding of sugar management or the realities facing workers.
Harbhajan and others are now using the same tactics employed by the AFC and PNC before 2015 — attempting to brainwash sugar workers with promises while ignoring the painful history of estate closures and mass dismissals under the coalition government.
The opposition’s spokesman on agriculture remains silent on many critical issues affecting sugar because many of those same individuals supported policies that nearly destroyed the industry and left thousands of workers and their families to suffer.
I, too, once criticised the PPP and its Agriculture Ministers. But after witnessing what occurred between 2015 and 2020, I had to honestly assess who truly cares about sugar workers and the future of the industry.
Since 2020, I have seen leadership from a Minister who understands the struggles of the working class, especially sugar workers. I have seen efforts to restore dignity, jobs and hope to families who depend on the industry for survival.
Under Minister Mustapha’s leadership, there has been improved direction and greater attention to workers’ welfare. While GuySuCo still faces operational and production challenges, the government continues working to improve the industry rather than destroy it.
Recently, misinformation was spread claiming that workers would not receive retroactive payments. Yet these false narratives are being pushed by some of the same people who supported the firing of thousands of workers and the closure of estates during the coalition years.
Brothers and sisters in the sugar industry, do not allow yourselves to be fooled again. Look carefully at what took place between 2015 and 2020 and compare it with what is taking place today.
Yes, workers have every right to demand better conditions and improved wages, but they should not allow themselves to be used for the political gains of those who once destroyed the very industry they now pretend to defend.
My brothers and sisters, your future and the future of your children depend on wise decisions. The rebuilding of the sugar industry and the restoration of hope for workers are taking place under this PPP/C government.
Think carefully about who truly stood with sugar workers during the difficult years and who is standing with them today.