Govt provides GUY$8.2 billion dollar bailout to GuySuco

Last Updated on Monday, 10 August 2015, 19:28 by GxMedia

by Zena Henry

The Guyana government has decided to allocate an additional GUY$8.2 billion to bail out the sickened Guyana Sugar Corporation for the remainder of the year, Finance Minister Winston Jordan announced.

Delivering the 2015 National Budget to the National Assembly, he noted that government has already disbursed GUY$3.8 billion to the industry.

He gave no indication that government would shut down the industry but appeared to suggest that some aspects of GuySuco’s operations could be scaled back at a time when the cost of production is 40 US cents per pound or about three times the price for the sweetener.

“This stop gap measure is not a substitute for hard decisions to be made to ensure it remains competitive in a global environment,” he said.

Jordan said government was looking forward to a report by the GuySuco Commission of Inquiry as part of efforts to ensure the industry is competitive as the industry is a major source of jobs, economic growth and foreign exchange.

While in opposition, A Partnership for National Unity  and the Alliance For Change  had heaped criticism on the then People’s Progressive Party Civic-led administration for doling out billions of dollars in bailouts to GuySuco.