Lewis’s statements may be divorced from the current situation in the sugar industry

The GAWU noticed Mr. Lincoln Lewis writing in his column of June 13, 2021 titled “ILO Study on closure of sugar estates proves workers let down by government” appearing on the news outfit Village Voice made several incorrect statements regarding the sugar industry which we believe require clarity to avoid any confusion or misconception. In the second sentence of the column, Mr. Lewis says “…study set out to investigate the impact of estates closure on the workers and their communities dating back to the closure of the Diamond Estate…” This, of course, is a clear misnomer. The study on page eleven says “the Government of Guyana closed the Wales, East Demerara, Rose Hall and Skeldon estates between 2016 and 2017… [t]his study serves as a response to these closures…” It appears the columnist may have misinterpreted the report or is engaged in wanton misinformation. Let us hope it is the former rather than the latter, though it requires Lincoln to be careful about what he writes.

The columnist next identifies that the closure of the East Demerara Estates was in line with some World Bank recommendation. Again, Mr. Lewis appears either confused or uninformed. The World Bank’s recommendation was made prior to the new millennium. However, the Government of Guyana and GuySuCo then developed a strategy which convinced the World Bank that the recommendation was not necessary. Had this not been done, the World Bank would have withheld its support for the Skeldon project. Apart from that, we are unaware of any other recommendation. Mr. Lewis