[www.inewsguyana.com] – Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy has taken Stanley Ming to task on the state of Guyana’s Sugar Industry, stating that Ming’s comments is another “wild, vile and wicked attack” on those who work in the industry.
iNews had reported that the Former Parliamentarian and businessman said the sugar industry is dead and that government is deliberately using tax payers’ money to pump into an industry that is being eliminated in many parts of the world.
Dr Ramsammy, in a statement issued on Monday, March 23, stated that Ming’s sentiments are “anti-Guyana.”
“The only persons who will support the call for closure of the sugar industry are those who have no idea on the importance of sugar in the fabric of the development story of our country. Mr. Ming is unequivocally out of his league when he attempted to talk about sugar,” Ramsammy said.
He said as Minister of Agriculture, he is “deeply disturbed” and accused the Opposition of using “people like Mr. Ming to sound out their position on political matters.”
According to Dr Ramsammy, the PPP/C will do whatever is necessary to ensure that sugar sustains its importance in Guyana.
“We will expand sugar for it to continue to play a crucial role in Guyana’s economy and social welfare development. We will invest whatever we need to ensure a strong sugar industry. The PPP/C has no “ands, if, and buts” when it comes to the sugar industry,” the Agriculture Minister said.
According to him, government sees sugar as “too big to fail.” He boasted of the many improvements in the industry under the PPP government, nothing that production was restored and have surpassed 250,000 tonnes 13 times in the last 20 years, and three times surpassed 300,000 tonnes.
He admitted that new circumstances, such as reduced sugar price, climate change, dwindling labour pools, more expensive equipment and supplies have killed many sugar industries around the world.
“In CARICOM, St. Kitts, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobagohave all ended sugar. Jamaica, Cuba and other countries have down-sized sugar.”
However, according to the Agriculture Minister, in Guyana, the industry is faced with the same.
“But instead of lamenting the changing circumstances and being overwhelmed, we have boldly embraced the challenges and seize opportunities. The experience has been painful and the set-backs frustrating. But we have also not been devoured by confronting the challenges,” Ramsammy said.
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