Dear Editor,
I write to commend Mr. Lancelot Hyman for his timely letter, which arrives as the Public Accounts Committee meets. I hope his revelations prompt the Economic Services Committee also to scrutinise Guysuco’s operations with the same urgency as the Transport & Harbours Department.
Mr. Hyman’s figures are shocking, but not surprising. In August 2024, Mr. Paul Cheong assured the public that “after one year, there will be visible improvements.” He boasted of his experience at Beharry’s Factory and declared that GuySuCo’s viability was “not a pipe dream.”
Where are these improvements, Mr. Cheong and Minister Zulifikar Mustapha?
The 2026 production data reveals a system in collapse:
- Persistent shortfalls: Albion, Rose Hall, and Blairmont all missed first-crop targets by thousands of tonnes. Only Uitvlugt barely scraped by. This mirrors 2025’s first crop, which produced a paltry 15,980 tonnes against expectations.
- Unrealistic targets: The annual target of 90,000 tonnes—already a retreat from President Irfaan Ali’s 100,000-tonne ambition—will be missed by roughly 38%. GuySuCo’s pattern is now predictable: revise targets downward, then miss them anyway. In 2025, the target slid from 80,000 to 70,000 to 60,000 tonnes; production still fell short at 59,200 tonnes.
- Dismal weekly output: At an estimated 58,137 tonnes annually, weekly production averages just 1,500 tonnes—far below the 2,000-tonne dry-season minimum. Even the “highest since reopening” week in 2023 reached only 2,457 tonnes, proving how low the bar has been set.
Leadership Failure
Mr. Cheong’s tenure has brought deepening losses—estimated at $30 billion over 2024–2025, with another $20 billion from the Treasury in 2026. Tonnes of prime cane rot in the fields, unharvested. Yet no one is held accountable.
Transparency is non-existent. GuySuCo’s press releases celebrate irrelevancies while ignoring catastrophic structural rot. The President’s “heads will roll” threats remain hollow. Political appointments sidelined professionals for loyalists. The cat has cut GAWU’s tongue.
Billions in subsidies—$16.4 billion in 2026 alone—cannot continue without results. Genuinely independent commercial management by experienced sugar professionals from India or Brazil is essential. We were told the Indians are coming, where are they Mr. President? But President Ali, now a major landowner himself, appears to have other interests.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Prashad
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