NEWS
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SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
3 estates produce over 700 tonnes of sugar in 1 day …highest daily performance tory foris 2020, 2021 expected to grind
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he Guyana Sugar C o r p o r a t i o n (GuySuCo) has announced that combined, Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt, the only three estates left standing after the downsizing of the sugar industry under the former Government, produced over 700 metric tonnes of sugar in one day. According to GuySuCo, the three estates produced 710 metric tonnes of sugar on Thursday. It was explained that this is the highest performance so far for 2021 and also for 2020. When it comes to the Uitvlugt estate, some 1.0006 metric tonnes of
sugar was produced for the week. This, according to GuySuCo, surpassed the week’s production target for the second week of complete grinding since the start of the first crop. “During the initial days of the 1st crop, 2021, GuySuCo’s engineering corps along with all factory team members worked diligently to rectify major defects observed during the pre-crop factory trials also known as steam trials. This week, the Uitvlugt factory recorded a total of 125 grinding hours, a significant improvement compared to 116 the previous week. At Uitvlugt, the fac-
Bandit posing as customer robs Chinese restaurant
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Chinese restaurant at Goed Fortune, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was on Friday robbed by a bandit posing as a customer. According to reports, at around 22:30h a silver-grey primo motor car stopped in front of the restaurant and a man exited the back passenger seat of the car, went to the gate of the restaurant and ordered a chicken fried rice. As the staff went in to prepare the order, the bandit whipped out the gun, jumped over the fence, ran into the restaurant, and held the owner at gunpoint. At that time, the owner of the business began resist-
ing and the lone gunman hit him to his head with the firearm which caused him to receive injuries. Guyana Times understands that during the scuffle, the magazine of the gun fell to the ground and six live 9mm ammunition fell out. After seeing this, the suspect reportedly left the man, went under the counter of the restaurant, grabbed the cash then jumped the fence and made good his escape in the waiting car. It is still unclear how much money the suspect took from the restaurant. A report was made to the Police and an investigation has been launched.
Pirates attack Guyanese fishermen
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group of Essequibo Coast, Region Two (PomeroonSupenaam) fisherman were attacked in the Waini River, Region One (Barima-Waini) by pirates. The incident occurred at Kamwatta, Waini River, in the North West District and according to Police, the men were robbed of food, fuel, cellular phones and about $100,000 in fish, late Wednesday night. Among the fishermen were two juveniles. The fishermen told Police that they were attacked by six armed men who spoke both English and Spanish. After the ordeal, the victims said that they made their way to Morawhanna Police Station where they made a report. Police said that arrangements are being made for them to be interviewed and have statements taken. A few months ago, a fishing expedition by a four-man crew along the Waini River turned into a horror story after the men were attacked by pirates. Reports are the boat, which was captained by a
30-year-old man of Kumaka Water Front, departed Morawhanna village, and while on their journey the crew was awakened by the sound of men on board the vessel. At the time there were five men, two of whom were armed with “long guns”; the suspects were clad in “what appeared to be military uniforms” and they were speaking a foreign language. Police stated that the pirates then took control of the vessel and forced the crew to the bow, where they remained for some 24 hours. The suspects then brought onboard their belongings, from a wooden boat they tied onto the captured vessel. The Police had stated that the suspects then spotted other boats in the area and left in pursuit of them. Before departing, they relieved the crew of their valuables, including a Plum cell phone valued at $16,000. Shortly after the suspects disembarked the vessel, the captain hurriedly started the boat and proceeded to the open ocean to avoid being followed by the pirates. (G9)
for 130-135 hours per week,” the company said on Saturday. “So far, the Uitvlugt Estate has harvested a total of 416 hectares (42 per cent of which was provided by private farmers). Both the private and the estate uses semi-mechanical and manual harvesting techniques to harvest more than 28,000 metric tonnes of cane to produce 2068 metric tonnes sugar over a period of just over two weeks.” The company went on to explain that engineers were able to fix a number of defects observed during trial runs at Uitvlugt. The improvements were made to the powerhouse, the crystallisers and a new boiler chimney. “Notable improvements pertaining to the factory’s operations this crop include: increase power generation due to repairs in the
powerhouse, a better mix of bagasse/fossil fuel usage contributing to reduction in cost, better quality of sugar cane harvested because of the strategy in the industry to go back to the basics in the agronomical practices and getting the nutrients for the plant on time,” the statement from the company said. According to the statement, the repairs will also result in “less extraneous matter as a result of repairs to cane dumper area conducted prior to crop, better quality sugar crystals due to repairs completed at the crystallisers and a new boiler chimney which is allowing better combustion and better performance in the boilers and more consistent steam generation on the estate.” Uitvlugt Manager Yudhisthira Mana said that $50 million went towards factory repairs while attributing the improve-
Uitvlugt Manager Yudhisthira Mana
ment in the estate’s productivity in 2021 “to the workers’ resilience, injection of the money towards factory repairs conducted prior to commencement of the 1st Crop 2021.” He noted that importantly, the continued confidence of the private farmers in the ability of the estate’s management to produce sugar of the highest quality must also be lauded. The former A
Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government had closed the Wales Estate in 2016, and subsequently shut down the Enmore, Rose Hall and Skeldon Estates. The downsizing of the sugar industry resulted in only the Uitvlugt, Blairmont and Albion Estates currently operating. After taking office last year, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) Government announced in the 2020 Emergency Budget presented in September 2020, that some $5 billion would be injected into the sugar industry for the phased reopening of the closed estates. GuySuCo was allocated a further $2 billion in Budget 2021 by the PPP/C Government for capital works to be undertaken at the various estates to help in the turnaround of the sugar industry.
