UNC: PNM lines up sugar importers

THE OPPOSITION UNC alleged that Government has lined up private individuals to import sugar into Trinidad and Tobago and “is now intent on totally destroying what is left of the sugar industry.” In a statement yesterday, the UNC claimed the Ministry of Trade and Industry “has been giving out several import licences to private individuals to import sugar into the country” and wondered whether these individuals had any affiliation to the ruling PNM.

Noting a recent decision by Government to import sugar from Guyana, the Opposition said: “This must be viewed as a manifestation of a total lack of planning regarding the future of the sugar industry or for that matter, the entire agriculture sector of the economy.” The party stated that in the past, sugar was imported from Guyana to meet the now defunct Caroni (1975) Limited’s export quotas and “it is a shame that four months after shutting down Caroni (1975) Limited and all the assurances given by senior Government ministers that this country has to go to Guyana to import sugar.” Addressing a post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall last Friday, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said the importation of Guyanese sugar would not harm the local sugar industry.

The UNC also called for fair treatment of canefarmers during the 2004 sugar crop and wondered why the Trinidad Islandwide Canefarmers Association (TICFA) appeared to be controlling the majority of the cane-weighing scales. The party supported a call by TICFA’s rival, the Cane Farmers Association of TT, for either an independent body to man the scales or re-establish Caroni’s cane-farming section. The UNC also questioned the identity of Virgo Consultants Limited and that company’s role regarding the 2004 crop.

The Opposition added that while the PNM retrenched 9,000 Caroni workers in a “cold and calculated” manner on July 31, 2003, it has yet to demonstrate that it has any plan for the sugar industry. During debate in Parliament last year, St Joseph MP Gerald Yetming confirmed that the former government was considering a plan that would have shut down Caroni and seen the retrenchment of 14,000 workers but said that plan never saw the light of day. Former Agriculture (and current Health) Minister John Rahael said preference would be given to former Caroni workers regarding lands for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes while allocation of Caroni’s 77,000 land acreage would be handled by the Business Estate Management Devel-opment Company. Rahael said studies would be done to determine the prime agricultural lands and for what purposes the remaining non-agricultural acreage could be utilised.