FSC record loss

THE recent statement released by the Fiji Sugar Corporation CEO Graham Clark on the corporation’s last fiscal year loss is beyond comprehensive and unacceptable from any good economic and financial planning perspective.

This is not only a dire and catastrophic situation for FSC’s survival but for the nation as well as it was the major leading industry for revenue for almost 76 per cent of the population who lived on it from its existence since the mid-1950s.

The fate of the sugar industry has been deteriorating and crumbling for almost the past 30 to 40 years without any serious and real resolutions or planning to save and revive it by any of the administrations.

The mills operating system has declined to almost not functional at all.

Even one of the great mills such as Penang has been closed. I believe nothing is being done.

This is a very sad day for the nation, especially the hardworking farmers.

My late dad used to always advise and lecture us on the greatness and importance of the sugar industry’s existence and it’s growth by the selfless hardworking girmitiya under the British rule.

With my dad’s encouragement and unrelenting passion for the sugar industry, one of my brothers was blessed enough to acquire a management position with FSC then. It seems the past and present administration has spent too much capital (excessive –– more than the budget) to upgrade and streamline the operations of the mills without any success, period!

I believe the cost of production has skyrocketed without any course of economic action.

The only way to save the industry and bring it back to profitable years of the 1970s and ‘80s is by reshaping the whole organisation from FSC’s executive office to labourer positions.

By streamlining its administration, sharpening the roles of departments and services and simplifying procedures and processes, I believe it will have a huge impact on operations and hence the cost and revenue as well.

The government should hire some foreign experts from the sugar industry who can draw a plan for strategy and implementation without any delay.

Also the CEO should make public the Annual Financial Report in all the major newspapers in all three languages at the earliest for the public to view. ABENDRA RAM TAHAL California, USA