REMARKS BY THE HON. ROBERT M. PERSAUD,

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE,

AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 50 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS OF GUYSUCO’S PORT MOURANT TRAINING CENTRE,

May 4 th, 2007

  

The 50 th anniversary of the Port Mourant Training Centre is an important milestone and a significant achievement for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO).

Port Mourant Training Centre first invited applications from the children of sugar workers back in 1957. Until then, opportunities for the children of sugar workers within the industry were limited to sugar cane farming or clerical work at GuySuCo. This Centre opened the doors for them to learn a trade and gave them the opportunity to explore their potential and equip themselves with technical skills the industry and the country badly needed as we sought to determine our own destiny as a nation.

I would like to draw attention to the important role GuySuCo’s Port Mourant Training Centre has played during the past 50 years, not just in the sugar industry but in the development of human resources and technical capacity in Guyana as a whole.

GuySuCo’s apprenticeship programme is widely regarded as one of the best here and regionally. It has trained thousands of apprentices and equipped them with important technical skills needed not only by Guyana’s sugar industry but by other industries. The fact that a majority of Port Mourant graduates have gone on to successful careers and occupy senior positions in all spheres of industry both in Guyana and overseas is proof enough of Port Mourant’s success as a training institution. Further, the impact of this Centre on Guyana’s economic and social development over the decades cannot be denied.

As you are aware, GuySuCo is currently implementing a strategic plan to modernise the Industry. This programme involves investment of US$160M in a new state-of-the-art factory at Skeldon to be operational by next February; expanded cane cultivations by both Guysuco and private cane farmers; possible private investment in a refinery and distillery; and facilities to enable the co-generation of electricity for the national grid. There are also other related opportunities to the sugar industry such as ethanol production.

These and other components, aimed at modernising Guyana’s Sugar Industry, will open up new training needs. The PMTC must be ready to respond to this challenge. The training centre must now grow in sync with the evolving new sugar cane industry in Guyana.

This dispensation must now cause us to explore synergies with the two Government Technical Institutes and the University of Guyana Tain Campus. We must seek to share resources and talent so as to cater for current and future technical requirements of the sector and our country.

Today, we now have a new sugar-cane-industry-paradigm.

But that we are talking about not only a new, but exciting opportunities for the sugar industry is no mere accident. It represents hard work and strong and visionary leadership.

On this occasion, I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the importance of the unwavering support that our President, His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo, has given to Guyana’s sugar industry. As a result of the President’s direct involvement, we have an industry which is being prepared to cushion the impact of the adjustments to the EU Sugar Regime. I am please to report that Guyana is well ahead in the restructuring and modernising of our sugar industry in the Caribbean region. Also, our Action Plan submitted to the European Commission has been hailed as one of the best presented. We should all be proud of this situation and thank our President for his abiding interest and support for this sector and the thousands of families who depend or sugar for their sustenance. There are many challenges which still lie ahead and certainly our President will be ready to give guidance and support.

Finally, I am delighted to be Minister of Agriculture at this juncture in the life of the PMTC and also at a time when the Sugar Sector is undergoing an exciting process to assure its future and that of our workers and our people.

I would like to reiterate that Port Mourant Training Centre is a glowing example of an important and successful technical training centre to serve a most sub-sector of our national economy.

 

Thank you!