Surprise inspection on Skeldon factory…By Leonard Gildarie Amidst concerns over the operations of the country’s spanking sugar facilities at Skeldon, government officials yesterday paid a surprise inspection.The exercise come days after President Bharrat Jagdeo expressed disappointment over the production levels, reportedly noting the critical importance of the factory to the sugar industry in Guyana.On the surprise visit were Minister of Agriculture,Cheap NHL Jerseys, Robert Persaud, and Parliamentarian and Board Member of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), Donald Ramotar.Grilled on the visits yesterday, Minister Persaud admitted that there were a number of technical issues and coupled with the fact that it is a new factory, there were some setbacks.The impromptu visit is but a clear indication over growing concerns of the multi-million-dollar facility,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, one of Guyana’s biggest investments to date, which has been plagued by a number of problems.Persaud, hinting at closer scrutiny by government, yesterday signaled increased checks on the operations of the factory by the administration and widespread strengthening of management systems.Recently,Cheap Jerseys For Sale, as concerns grew, the General Manager of the factory, Vishnu Panday resigned.At the inspection exercise also were GuySuCo’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Raj Singh, and the factory’s General Manager (ag), Vickram Subramani.Cane being processed at the Skeldon factory yesterday.According to the Minister, not even management of the factory was aware of the visit since in the past there were indications that planning was done to make everything appear alright whenever inspections were announced.Government’s immediate concern now is to ensure that factory ramps up its operations and production to realize its full capacity.Already, changes have been made and Indian experts have been brought in to lend technical assistance to man the boilers and co-generation power plant.Commenting on recent statements by President Jagdeo that sugar was dead without the Skeldon factory, Persaud said that it was a clear reflection of the government’s position on the facility which is a huge investment and of major significance to Guyana.The management and Board of GuySuCo has also been warned to swiftly bring the factory to the “desired level of efficiency”, Persaud disclosed.A boiler which blew up recently is being repaired by Chinese technicians and the cane-dumper which went down recently is back in operation, the Minister revealed.As far as production is concerned,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys, the factory is geared to grind for this year 700,000 tonnes of cane or 90% more than last year.“But there is still much, much more work to be done,” the Minister cautioned.PRODUCTIONRegarding the production of the co-generation plant, another critical aspect of the factory, this is currently supplying 10MW to the national grid,Wholesale Jerseys, more than the 8MW required and this is a positive for the facility since the power goes up to Mahaica, in the county of Demerara.Regarding the production target which was revised downwards, the officials, including Ramotar and Singh, were confident that the recent announcement of 264,000 tonnes of sugar announced recently could be surpassed once the rains hold up until Christmas.According to the Deputy CEO, the revised target is the minimum and GuySuCo is fully confident that it could be met and surpassed.One positive sign for the factory is the fact that there is enough cane and with the Bell loaders, there is all likelihood that production will be better than expected, added Ramotar.GuySuCo is also facing a problem of poor turnout from cane-cutters,Cheap NFL Jerseys, it was admitted yesterday.With regards to the finances of GuySuCo, both Singh and Ramotar admitted that while the Corporation is cash-strapped at the moment, systems in place will prove that the challenges are temporary, and it is only a matter of time before these are gone.Regarding questions on the further sale of GuySuCo’s assets, Ramotar noted that the Corporation has been moving for some time now, in accordance with its Turnaround Plan, to consolidate its operations. This was evidenced by the $4B sale of land to government last year for housing projects. So while some lands have been let go, more lands in areas closer to operations have been put under cultivation.Hinting at a bright future for the Corporation, Ramotar noted that shortly the Enmore packaging plant will be up and running. Additionally, GuySuCo has not fully ruled out the building of a sugar refinery at Skeldon.