Not a dime more for sugar, says PM

PRIME MINISTER Bruce Golding said on Tuesday that the Government had no plans to spend another dollar to save the beleaguered Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) as it eyes other potential investors for the loss-making entity.
Golding said on Tuesday that his administration was not prepared to commit scarce resources to keeping the struggling industry afloat, at the expense of other critical sectors.

Responding to questions from Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture Roger Clarke about the state of the sugar industry, the prime minister said the Government had not discarded its divestment plans for state-owned factories.

"The decision was made that the Government would exit direct responsibility for the sugar industry; that we would seek to identify a suitable investing partner to manage and operate the sugar industry. That search continues," Golding said.

He said the administration still felt that it would be able to sell the sugar industry.

The Government failed in its months-long bid to sell its stake in the sugar industry to Brazilian firm, Infinity Bio-Energy.

In Tuesday's question-and-answer session, Clarke said the prime minister's comments suggested that "sugar is now on its final road to death". He wanted to know what would be the fate of the sector if divestment plans failed.

However, the prime minister said he was not willing to bury an industry that had not yet died.