Commission of Inquiry into GuySuco completes first round of factory visits today

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2015, 15:25 by GxMedia

Mr. Anthony Vieira meeting with Commissioners.

The Commission of Inquiry asked by the Government of Guyana to investigate the operations of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has continued its work and will complete the first round of factory visits Tuesday with a five-member team visiting the Uitvlugt factory.

Visits were conducted at all the other estates in Berbice and Demerara, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture.

During the visits, meetings were held with all levels of staff. Field, factory and human resource commissioners held meetings with general managers, departmental managers and some workers. These visits took place during the out of crop period and this facilitated an examination of work in progress for the next crop. 

Managers were open in their review of operations and took the opportunity to identify obstacles affecting productivity and production. They all shared their concerns for the marked decline in production with consequential losses over the past recent years.

Teams will be revisiting the estates at various periods as a follow up. In the meanwhile, members of the commission have started consultations with various stakeholders. So far, those persons who presented their views and made statements to the commission include Mr. Sydney Robinson, a former factory manager in the sugar industry who now resides in Florida; Mr. Vickram Oditt, former Chairman of GuySuCo; Mr. Anthony Vieira, former shareholder of Houston/Versailles estates and a manager in the industry; Mr. Earl John, former Human Resources Director of GuySuCo and Mr. Raymond Sangster, General Manager, Agriculture Services, GuySuCo. 

Others who have signaled their intentions to make submissions include representatives of Guyana Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU), National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), Guyana Labour Union (GLU), representatives of the National Cane Farming Association, Mr. Vishnu Panday, former General Manager of GuySuCo, Mr. Lance Tyrell, former Factory Manager and Chief Electrical Engineer, GuySuCo and Mr. George Alleyne, formerly of GuySuCo.

Notices have been sent out inviting interested parties to contact the Secretary of the Commission of Inquiry so that dates can be set for their presentation. Discussions are ongoing with Mr. Bhim of GuySuCo and with the return of Mr. Errol Hanoman shortly, he will be joining in the talks.