The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) says it has run out of cash to meet basic expenditure such as the payment of salaries, maintenance and bare essentials; and as such, has appealed to central government for help.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of GuySuCo, James Dow wrote caretaker president David Granger on May 15, expressing concerns about the entity’s financial situation, begging for a bailout.
See full letter: GuySuCoLetter – 15May20
He revealed that the Sugar Company is in debt of some $2.1 billion, without any sight of funding in the near future.
According to the Chairman, GuySuCo has run out of cash to meet basic expenditure such as payment of salaries and maintenance.
In fact, he said because of its debts, contractors that usually provide goods and services for the corporation have now begun demanding large upfront payment before any supplies are given to the industry.
The GuySuCo official has since indicated to the caretaker president that the Corporation has only ever received just about $9.7B of the promised US$30B that was secured for the industry by the government run national Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Special Purpose Unit (SPU).
According to Dow, recent interactions with the intermediate body—that was placed in charge of large aspects of the corporation’s management—has revealed that little or no further funds are likely from this source in the near future.
Additionally, the Chairman noted that the Corporation’s business plans calls for investments in critical equipment and infrastructure works to secure the future of the Corporation and these cannot be sourced from the cash generated operations.
He indicated to the administration that the entity only has enough cash to last up to this week.
Dow noted in the missive to the caretaker president that the financial situation at GuySuCo is so dire that two accountants—Ramesh Persaud and Paul Cheong—have since resigned.
Commenting on these developments, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) said this is disturbing news at this point in time.
