PSC urges speedy privatisation of sugar estates

By Devina Samaroo

There is a glimmer of hope that the retrenched sugar workers will be reemployed at the Enmore Sugar Estate once it is privatised, private sector officials said Monday, January 29, 2018.

Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Eddie Boyer said the entity and other private firms have a great interest in taking over the estate at Enmore.

“The Private Sector Commission and a number of businesses are looking to make a proposal for Enmore Estate. Now, there are other people who are going to make proposals, I am not saying that we are going to be lucky but we made that proposal because we feel that this estate could be viable,” Boyer told scores of retrenched workers at a business forum organised by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the Ministry of Business.

Boyer was one of several business moguls at the event who urged that the Special Purpose Unit of (SPU) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) fast-track the process of privatising the sugar estates so that some of the retrenched workers can be reemployed.

“Early privatisation and reopening of the estates is important and the faster we can get this back up and running, the workers can get back their jobs,” he stated.

President of the Georgetown Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Deodat Indar noted the various private sector umbrella bodies will be making strong representation for the privatisation of the estates to be fast-tracked.

“We the private sector would have to make sure we engage NICIL to speed up the process of which they pass it (estate) into private hands so that people can be reemployed quickly,” Indar expressed.

The SPU set up to manage the divestment of the sugar industry is close to finalising a deal with an investor, to keep the Enmore estate up and running.

The privaisation specialist at the SPU, Shawn Persaud recently told News Room that the investor is willing to finance the operations of the estate even while the divestment is still ongoing.

However, the GCCI President still cautioned that it may take a long time before the estate is fully privately controlled and retrenched workers reemployed.

“How fast that happens is where all of us need to be sure that we put our efforts to make sure it happens faster than normal because I understand that it will take months to value the assets before they start selling it out,” he explained.

Indar added that the private investors will then also have to assess the assets to ensure that he is paying money for value.

“So this takes a couple of months and whilst this is happening, workers are on the breadline,” he explained.

As such, Indar encouraged workers to find jobs in the interim that can sustain their families’ livelihood until better options become available.

Reports are the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) is also interested in taking over the Enmore Estate.

It’s not just Enmore that the SPU hopes to get going again soon; it is looking for similar arrangements at the other three estates which have been closed.

These are Wales, Rose Hall and Skeldon. Estates at Albion, Blairmont, Uitvlugt will be kept running with the aim of producing 147,000 tonnes annually.