Residents shut down Skeldon over planned privatization

Over 500 sugar workers, business owners, housewives, pensioners and vendors from the Skeldon/ Corriverton area on Tuesday closed their businesses and took to the streets to protest the planned closure and sale of the Skeldon Sugar Estate.

The protest which commenced from the Skeldon Sugar Estate and concluded at Republic Square, saw the massive crowd marching along with placards belting out slogans to have their voices heard. Vendors from the Skeldon Market who left their stalls to support the protesters highlighted how the planned closure will affect their livelihood. A vendor and parent of five children stressed that since the announcement of closure her business has not been booming as before. She is fearful that it will get worse and eventually leave her out of a job. “We does barely get to catch we hand at the end of the day cause business slow, slow and now they wanna close the estate, What you think will happen to me children that I gotta support? Much less them sugar workers. Something else gotta happen cause people punishing.” Another vendor reiterated, “I am a vendor at that market for over five years now and is mostly them sugar workers does buy, If Granger tek way the estate, wheh them people gonna get money from? What they gonna buy with? Leaf? Cause me can’t see how you want punish we more when we barely making sales”. Regional Chairman David Armogan lamented that if the Government pushes ahead with its planned decision, Guyana’s economy will spiral downward. “Over 10,000 persons will be jobless by year end. Can you imagine what that will mean for this economy? Businesses will close down like today. Skeldon and the entire Berbice will become a ghost town if they close this estate.”

(Kaieteurnews.com)