President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reopening the Skeldon Sugar Estate in Region Six despite facing several challenges.
“We are working on the Skeldon Estate…I agree that there are challenges but we are working on that,” the head of state emphasised on Thursday.
Addressing residents of Crabwood Creek during a community engagement, the Guyanese leader outlined the government’s ongoing efforts to revitalise the sugar industry and modernise the operations of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
“We are rebuilding the industry. We have brought back thousands of jobs, we have paid severance to workers who were not paid, we have given them cash grants,” the president said.
President Ali acknowledged the difficulty in attracting the necessary workforce, accelerating the push towards mechanising the industry.
“We are now working at Skeldon. We are mechanising 5,000 hectares to put back into production,” President Ali stated.
He also mentioned collaboration with cane farmers interested in cultivating corn, red beans, and black-eyed peas on 9,000 acres of land. This is part of the country’s motive of becoming self-sufficient.
Further, the head of state highlighted ongoing efforts at other estates including Rose Hall and Albion, and mentioned initiatives to introduce new crop varieties in collaboration with Cuba and Brazil.
Meanwhile, the government will engage the sugar workers before the end of the next quarter, as part of the administration’s commitment to finding a solution to ensure workers’ well-being.
Last month, President Ali announced the implementation of a new management team at GuySuCo to drive the modernisation process.
During Thursday’s engagement, he confirmed that Paul Cheung, former Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), has since assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GuySuCo.