…in sugar
Now, some of you, dear readers, may be starting to think your normally equipped Eyewitness is going a bit overboard about the sugar situation; but, to be honest, he just can’t get his head wrapped around the idea of a “socialist” government throwing 10,000 workers to the wolves ‘cause the industry ain’t “profitable”!
“Profitable”?? Why’s the Government using the fallacy of the excluded middle: “everything must be or not be”. Point of the matter is that the sugar business isn’t that black and white — make profits, continue; no profits, close. First of all, what are “profits” in the world of sugar, when every significant exporter subsidises the product?? The sugar market has little to do with supply and demand.
Then, in the case of a government, don’t they have a social responsibility to workers? Are PPP supporters not men and brothers, too? Has the Govt accepted the “market fundamentalism” of the neo-liberals hook, line and sinker”??
But the Government isn’t satisfied with throwing sugar workers out into the streets; they want to shift the blame to them. If the cane-cutters from Wales don’t go over to Uitvlugt, THEY’RE to blame if Uitvlugt gets shuttered. Boo!! Hiss!! Now let’s pick sense from nonsense and read between the lines:” The fate of Uitvlugt’s already sealed, and that fate is “CLOSURE”.
The Ministry of Agriculture has to be headed by someone who’s really mentally challenged if he believes the nonsense he spouts when he says Uitvlugt’s being prepared to double its production to 40,000 tonnes annually. Even in its heyday, Uitvlugt never produced more than 25,000 tonnes of sugar. And that’s not just because it didn’t have more cane, and cane will now be supplied from Wales. That’s hogwash, or bagasse!
The real limiting factor’s the equipment in the factory itself. The equipment can process only up to its optimum, and that still remains 25,000 max. Take the centrifuge, which separates the crystals of sugar from the molasses. Right now, the ones at Uitvlugt can’t even efficiently process the piddling amount of sugar it produces. The molasses that DDL’s so filled with sugar, it’s making a killing (pun intended). It takes more than 15 tons of cane, rather than the usual 10, to produce 1 ton of sugar, as is the norm when things are running as they ought to. Where’s profitability??
But rather than fixing the centrifuges and the other factory equipment, the Agriculture Ministry’s transferring the very visible gantry from Wales to show it’s doing something.
And when Uitvlugt can’t produce sugar with the basket it’s being given, in the midst of crocodile tears being shed, we’ll hear it has to be closed.
…from GPL
Did you hear the nonsense being spouted by the Chairman of GPL?? The Opposition Leader says because of GPL’s tariffs being set by the PUC when oil was being purchased @ $100+/barrel, GPL’s sitting on over $20 billion of profit, since it’s been buying oil at $50/barrel for the longest while. Badal gets all huffy, as if his buckta’s in a knot, and claims Jagdeo doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Fair enough, Jagdeo isn’t God, and can err — even though THAT doesn’t happen much! So, pressed as to the status of GPL’s finances, Badal says, “There’s been “significant improvement” in GPL’s financial position!! Can you believe this level of tripe from someone in such a critical position? So what the heck’s the meaning of “significant”?? If it doesn’t translate to $20 billion, then what is it?
The money came from the pockets of the taxpayers (except from Linden), and they have a right to the info. Does Badal REALLY want folks to ask Ramson to get on his case for the info??!!
…from Bond
Your Eyewitness is a movie buff…and Roger Moore’s passing reminded him that the Bond franchise was one of his favourites, not least because of the various femmes fatale.
One of his favourites was Grace Jones, who starred in “A View to a Kill”.
