The Alliance For Change calls on the PPP/C government to come clean and let the people of this country know what is the real position with the new Skeldon Sugar Factory. The Party is concerned that this generation of taxpayers and generations to come will end up paying for a factory that will never live up to expectations. Sugar workers at Skeldon and all across the industry want to know what is happening with this factory. As much as they want a well functioning factory, workers are concerned that the Skeldon Factory will end up costing more than the industry can afford and they will be the ones to suffer most as money that should go towards improving their wages will instead be spent on a ‘white elephant’.
In Aug 2009 the new Skeldon sugar factory was commissioned at a cost of US $ 181m with the assurance that it will produce 110,000 tonnes sugar per annum. Most of this capital was borrowed from the Caribbean Development Bank and the People’s Republic Bank of China.
Unfortunately this new factory that was hailed as the best in the Caribbean and state-of-the-art, has turned out to be little more than a ‘white elephant’ Since testing it was and continues to be plagued with several serious engineering defects, many of which the AFC highlighted in the past. Because of these defects only 33,237 tonnes of sugar was produced in 2010 and 29,410 tonnes in 2011. From all indications the 2012 production may even be lower than these levels.
Recently the Hon. Minister of Agriculture disclosed that the South African Engineering Firm Bosch was contracted in the tune of US $ 130,000 to design modifications needed, this is modification to the PPP government State-of-the-Art sugar factory. The areas to be repaired will be the condensate tank, the conveyor system, and the feeder system which leads to the boiler.
The defects notification period is now expired and it means that the Chinese firm which constructed this plant is no longer under any obligation to repair these defects. The already struggling Guyanese taxpayers will therefore have to bear this extra burden.
According to KN of June 26, 2012 “GUYSUCO is yet to start making payments to the government who in turn will pay” the Caribbean Development Bank and the People’s Republic Bank of China.
During its commissioning ceremony the then Region 6 Chairman boasted that “this factory is a gift from the PPP/C to the people…” Time has now told that rather than being a gift or an asset the Guyanese people are called upon to shoulder a liability. This surely is another confirmation of poor administration which has bedeviled our land and the AFC is very concerned about the continuing huge capital that is being injected into this failing entity.
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