Issues of farmers of Belle Vue Co-op Society have not been resolved
Dear Editor,
I herein reference Francis Carryl’s letter in the Stabroek News on Thursday, December 5, 2019, on the Belle Vue Cooperative imbroglio. In his penultimate paragraph, he stated, “Finally, I believe that the Ministry has already expended vast amounts of resources in addressing this matter which should now be considered closed, without any further treatment” (sic). I dare say – not so fast Mr Carryl. Your tenure as a consultant with the then Ministry of Labour in 2014 does not offer you the institutional framework to dismiss this issue in the manner you seek to do.
As a son of the soil of the neighbouring village of Belle Vue, you should have had a more informed insight into the evolution of the Belle Vue cane farming community and appreciate the struggles of the farmers against the exploitative, manipulative and systemic challenges that have been in existence since 2007. These are some of the many issues that Mr Balkarran has unsuccessfully sought to find redress to over the years.
For you to now label Mr Balkarran as a non-resident farmer with no collateral rights, and to accuse him as an instigator of the farmers against decisions agreed upon with the various stakeholders are far from the truth. I do not seek to defend Mr Balkarran (aka Shyam Balkaran, B Balkarran and Balram Balkarran), but the truth is that he is a legitimate cane farmer of the said co-op society with Power of Attorney in place to manage his affairs.
It was Mr Balkarran along with the Belle Vue Co-op Committee of Management who sought a renewal of the co-op lease for an additional 25 years in 2009, when the original lease expired. It was Mr Balkarran who was instrumental in 2018 in negotiating with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of the Presidency and other ministries for several cane fields to be appropriated for the cultivation of cash crops by members of the co-op society, and which crops are currently being wantonly destroyed by a third party individual who now alleges to have legitimacy over the co-op. And it is Mr Balkarran who has over the past 13 years sought representations for the affected farmers with the various subject ministers of Labour and Agriculture, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, the President of Guyana, GuySuCo officials and the various Chief Cooperative Development Officers – all with a view to stop the illegal sale of farmers’ estates to a third party and for a return of the properties to the dispossessed farmers.
Further, it was Mr Balkarran’s initiative that led to a Commission of Enquiry, ordered by then Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud in 2012. Subsequent to this enquiry, Dr Luncheon got involved and requested that a Cabinet Subcommittee on Labour review the state of affairs of the Belle Vue Co-op Society.
included in the curriculum of primary schools and for simplified lists of these rights to be visibly available in workplaces and other public spaces. Experiences published in this week’s as related by two women, one who is disabled and the other living with HIV, are clear examples of why wider human rights education is needed. In the first instance, one of the issues raised concerned the right to education. Ms Simone Poole, who became disabled as a result of an accident while still a child, was denied a secondary education because she was unable to climb the stairs at her school. She was forced to drop out as no allowances were made for her disability. This is still an issue at the majority of public schools in Guyana, something that successive governments have ignored even when building new schools. In the second instance, the woman living with HIV is unwilling to publicly declare her status because she knows she, and, perhaps members of her family though they are not HIV positive, are likely to face discrimination. She had faced it in the past and is determined not to have to go through it again. Rampant gender inequality, a vestige of the
Thereafter, Cabinet expressed concern over the dispossession of farmers of their estate, deemed it unlawful and recommended action by the Coop Division of the Ministry of Labour to ensure the return of the land to the dispossessed.
To date, the issues of the farmers have not been resolved and for you to now state that they have been, show gross disrespect to the affected farmers and corresponds to the miscarriage of justice.
But then, given the state of affairs in Guyana today, nothing seems to get resolved without a fight or litigation, as it is perpetually consumed in a labyrinth of denial, decay and decadence.
I further say not.
Yours faithfully,
Tej Baijnath
Son of Belle Vue Pilot Scheme Former Regional Industrial Relation Manager - GuySuCo