Whether or not the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sasenarine Singh remains at the helm of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo believes the management of the sugar company needs strengthening.
He made these remarks on Monday during a press briefing whilst responding to questions about GuySuCo’s operations.
“Clearly, we have to strengthen management at GuySuCo, that is, without doing an assessment of the performance of the CEO or not. I’ve had less of an interaction with the sector from a management perspective in the last several months because I’m focused heavily on the planning agenda. But clearly, whether the CEO stays or not, we have to strengthen management and outcome and investments. We’re looking at bringing clearer private involvement in the sector,” Jagdeo contended.
Just recently, the CEO came under fire from an employee at the La Bonne Intention Head Office, where, in a letter to the editor, he gave his take on the state of affairs at the sugar company.
With over 25 years under his belt, the employee related, “What I have seen happening there has never happened before. Many Chief Executive Officers came and went and GuySuCo had remained resilient but under this current CEO, things are falling apart rapidly not only due to the fact that he knows nothing about sugar… He should have been tapping into the vast knowledge of these people and build a workable strategic plan but instead he sees them as a threat. He wants to be always right but he needs to be aware that a man must know his limitations.”
It was contended that there have been instances where senior officials were forced to resign due to the CEO’s conduct.
“My question is: Where is GuySuCo going? We have suffered a huge flood, we are suffering from a pandemic and now we have a CEO who is equally destructive. We must not allow GuySuCo to be destroyed from within. Billions of taxpayers’ dollars will go down the drains if the President does not act now,” the letter added.
This publication reached out for a comment on the situation but efforts proved futile.
Meanwhile, back in September, workers attached to the Skeldon Sugar Estate staged a picketing exercise outside of the factory to end what workers described as “discriminatory” benefits practices.
Supported by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), the sugar workers were protesting a decision by the sugar company to pay gratuity to employees at the managerial, supervisory, and clerical levels while denying similar payments to workers employed in the field, factory, and allied areas.
GAWU had relayed, “no reason or explanation was provided by the Corporation for its decision. The workers, having learnt of the Corporation’s adamancy on the matter, became deeply upset and felt cheated. They indicated to the GAWU they felt lesser to their colleagues at the other levels of the estate”.
