There needs to be a broad-based national consensus on restoring the sugar industry

Dear Editor, The government, led by President David Granger, has a critical facilitating and enabling role to bring the relevant stakeholders together to arrive at a national consensus to save the sugar industry. It requires commitment, political maturity on all sides, and leadership to forge a mutually agreed way forward. This may also be a confidence building measure for developing high political trust, which can motivate discussion on other pressing matters of concern in the national interest, and contribute to national unity.

It is well known that the sugar industry has survived and contributed massively to the development of our country for centuries. The industry was built and cultivated by the blood, sweat and tears of our forefathers, and there were many martyrs among them as a consequence of the degradation and inhumanity meted out to them. Today, sugar is still the largest employer of workers, and it supports tens of thousands of people who depend directly or indirectly on the industry for their livelihood. It also supports viable communities in and around the various sugar estates, including cane farmers and suppliers of various inputs for the industry.

The contributions of the sugar industry to the national treasury in terms of foreign exchange over the years have been immense, and the industry is still a significant foreign currency earner. Many knowledgeable and experienced persons in the industry are convinced that it can be saved and returned to profitability. This requires determination and the right decisions from the cultivation of sugar canes to producing sugar, and recognizing the potential for value added and other revenue earning ventures.

The Commission of Inquiry Report into the Guyana Sugar Corporation, October 2015, should be given serious consideration in national consultations on the way forward. Recent studies and the views and positions of various stakeholders should all be put on the table and discussed to find a broad-based national consensus approach to restore the viability of the industry.

In this centenary year of the end of indentureship, it would be a noble and prudent act to save and revitalise the sugar industry. Yours faithfully, Samuel J Goolsarran