New Guysuco Board being fine-tuned, amid concerns about conflict of interest

Last Updated on Friday, 9 March 2018, 19:24 by Denis Chabrol

Head of NICIL’s Special Purpose Committee for the sale of Guysuco’s assets, Colvin London

Government is yet to decide on the composition of the Board of Directors of the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco), a senior government official.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon made known his position at a time when there concerns in some quarters about whether the Head of the Special Purpose Unit, Colvin Heath-London, who is overseeing the sale of several estates, should chair the board.

“Cabinet made comments with respect to the Board of Guysuco that was identified and I am sure that within a short space of time all of the issues that relates to the Board will be clarified and that there will be a full board of Guysuco appointed gazettes and working,” Harmon told a post-cabinet news conference.

The State Minister said Cabinet has requested to have a further consideration of the Board of Guysuco, a financially-strapped state-owned corporation that has since transferred several of its estates to the Special Purpose Unit of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited.

Sources have indicated that it would be unhealthy or a conflict of interest for Heath-London to head the SPU and chair Guysuco’s Board at the same time.

The SPU recently decided to reopen operations at Enmore-East Demerara, and Rose Hall Estates to harvest sugar cane for the production of molasses for the privately-owned Demerara Distillers Limited. Heath-London has said in New York that that company would be partnering with the SPU to produce molasses for the distillery.