The National Assembly today erupted in laughter after APNU Member of Parliament (MP) Vinceroy Jordan promised to develop the Guyana Sugar Corporation which the APNU+AFC coalition had downsized during its time in government.
After it won government in 2015, the APNU+AFC shut four sugar estates, putting more than 7,000 workers and their families on the breadline.
Since losing the seat of government in 2020, the opposition APNU and AFC have defended its position to close the estates, and has called for the PPP government to close the remaining estates.
However, during the 2025 budget debates today, Jordon had a different position from his party.
“Under the APNU+AFC, we will develop GUYSUCO,” he said, causing the National Assembly to erupt in laughter.What was even more surprising was that Jodan also complained about the subvention given to GUYSUCO by the government since 2020 to rehire workers and operationalize the estates which were in a deplorable state.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha who spoke after Jordan lambaste him for attempting to distort the truth and rewrite the record of the APNU/AFC government.
Mustapha pointed out that it was under the APNU+AFC government that sugar production dropped from about 231,000 tonnes in 2015 to just over 92,000 tonnes by 2019, a massive 60% decrease.
Mustapha contended that the opposition APNU and AFC have always had an issue with sugar workers because they are of the belief that those workers support the PPP.
