Decision on sugar divestment negotiations expected today

GOVERNMENT is today expected to announce its decision on the protracted negotiations for the sale of the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) to Brazilian company Infinity Bio-Energy.

Yesterday, the Office of the Prime Minister summoned all stakeholders in the sugar industry to a meeting this morning at Jamaica House to make a statement on the deal.

Up to late last night, high-level meetings were being held to plan the way forward for the crucial industry, the Observer learned.

"Tough decisions will have to be made going forward," a highly placed government insider said.

The progress of the negotiations with the Brazilians has been a closely held secret leading to public speculation since the sale of the five state-owned sugar factories - Monymusk, Frome, Bernard Lodge, Hampden and Duckensfield - was announced last year.

President of the All-Island Jamaica Cane Farmers Association (AIJCFA) Alan Rickards told the Observer yesterday that farmers had no indication of the direction that the talks between Infinity Bio-Energy and government has taken.

"I have no indication of the mood let alone the content and I wait with bated breath," Rickards said yesterday.

On Wednesday, following the conclusion of a special management committee meeting at the association's downtown offices, Rickards said he was hopeful that the divestment would still go through.

"It will be eggs or young ones, but it is my personal belief is that it will go through. Government is not in a position to maintain it on the public purse so Infinity will have to find whatever money they need to carry out the divestment. I believe the Government will try to convince them to continue.," he told the Observer.

The AIJCFA president had earlier told the gathering of cane farmers, which included Ambassador Derrick Heaven - chairman of the Sugar Industry Authority - that he expected the government to lay out all information on the status of the divestment today.

"We will be told chapter and verse of what is happening in the divestment process," he said.

Last August Prime Minister Bruce Golding announced a $2.7-billion pay-off to sugar workers and a September 30 deadline for the conclusion of negotiations to sell five sugar factories and the Petcom ethanol refinery at Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston to Infinity Bio-Energy.

The Brazilians were to purchase the assets of the five factories with Government retaining a 25 per cent share in the operations.

However, the September date came and went without a deal. Government said that there were outstanding issues and a new deadline of December 31 was subsequently set for finalising the negotiations.

In December, sugar workers received $800 million in notice pay and a promise for redundancy payments starting this month.

Meanwhile, the Government has also put in place transitional arrangements for the commencement of the 2008/2009 sugar crop as negotiations continued with Infinity Bio-Energy last December.

The arrangement allows Wray and Nephew and Worthy Park estates to accept and process some of the cane to be reaped by private cane farmers registered to Frome and Bernard Lodge.