Dear Editor,
On the 28th of August, 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture proudly announced “$600M abattoir completed at Onverwagt, Region Five” (https://agriculture.gov.gy/2024/08/28/600m-abattoir-completed-at-onverwagt-region-five/). Yet, less than two years later, the numbers tell a story of catastrophic underperformance that the Ministry is desperately trying to spin as success.
Let us do the arithmetic that the Ministry apparently hopes no one will do.
Assume there were start-up issues and the plant did not become operational until October 1, 2024 – a generous two-month delay. From that date to June 30, 2026, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, there are 456 weekdays. Now, factor in 56 days for maintenance and unforeseen closures, leaving 400 working days.
The Minister himself, Mr. Zulfikar Mustapha, stated the plant is expected to process 30 to 35 animals per day. Let us be exceedingly generous and assume only 25 animals per day were processed to account for a learning curve.
The average cow in Guyana weighs approximately 189 kg (carcass weight). Let us again be generous and assume a lower figure of 150 kg per animal.
Now do the math:
- 150 kg × 25 animals × 400 days = 1,500,000 kg of beef that should have been processed at this facility.
By the Ministry’s own admission, the abattoir has produced a grand total of 112,000 kg of beef.
That means this $600 million facility is operating at a paltry 8% of its capacity.
Mind you, Editor, I have been extraordinarily generous in every assumption – reducing the number of working days, lowering the daily slaughter rate, and underestimating the average weight of the animals – all to give the Ministry the benefit of the doubt. And yet, even with all this dilution, the plant stands at 8% capacity.
$600 million to produce 8% of its capacity? Not 50%, but 8%!
How can the Ministry stand before the public and claim this facility is “functioning” and “contributing to the growth of the sector” when it is operating at less than 10% of its capacity?
The GLDA tries to explain this away by citing “market demand, seasonal livestock supply, and the choices made by producers.” This is a cop-out. If the government invests $600 million of public money in a state-of-the-art abattoir, it has a responsibility to ensure that facility is properly utilized.
1. Where is the work plan to encourage farmers to use it?
2. Where is the marketing strategy to create demand for the beef it produces and to sell this meat in places like Barbados and Jamaica?
3. Where is the export certification that was promised to position Guyana as a regional leader in meat processing?
Instead of answers, we get accusations. The Ministry claims that allegations of underutilization and corruption are “completely false” and intended to “undermine public confidence.” But the figures they themselves have provided tell a story of underutilization and corruption. When a $600 million facility processes fewer than two cattle a day since it was opened, it is not a success – it is a white elephant.
The Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, has spoken of unprecedented investment and expansion. But investment without results is financial waste and corruption, just like what we are witnessing at the NDIA. Expansion without strategy is folly.
I call on the Ministry to stop dismissing legitimate criticism as “misinformation” and to instead provide a clear, honest, and detailed account of:
- Why the Onverwagt Abattoir is not meeting its potential;
- What immediate steps will be taken to expand the market in the Caribbean; and
- What concrete actions will be implemented to expand production from this facility, even if it mean bringing more Brazilian cows to the facility.
The Ministry says we should judge the government by its record of delivery. I invite them to do exactly that. The record on the Onverwagt Abattoir speaks for itself – and it is not a record of success.. It is a record of waste, mismanagement, and deception.
Yours faithfully,
Lancelot Hyman
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