By Erica James-King, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
AS THE Hampden Cane Farmers Association (HCFA) intensifies its lobby effort for the lease of the Hampden Sugar complex in Trelawny, by its parent organisation, the All Island Cane Farmers Association, the group has called an emergency mass meeting of its members tomorrow afternoon.
The HCFA is making it clear that the meeting will facilitate consultations with its members, in trying to determine the way forward in pressing home its demands on the authorities for the lease of the sugar lands, distillery and factory at Hampden.
"We (the farmers) need to have the factory, to keep the wheels of production turning," insisted George Fray, president of the HCFA who is batting for dialogue with Prime Minister P. J. Patterson on the matter. "We need the Prime Minister to address us. We want the Prime Minister to speak personally to us and tell us why his government is refusing to honour our request." Mr. Fray is emphasising that the canes of his membership will be ready for reaping in March, so the matter of the factory lease needs to be settled as a matter of urgency.
Friday's meeting of the HCFA will kick off at 1 p.m. on lands opposite the Wakefield Police Station in Trelawny.
Meanwhile, Ruddy Grant, vice president of the HCFA, discloses that Member of Parliament for North Trelawny, Dr. Patrick Harris, has been invited to address the gathering. Representatives from the All Island Cane Farmers Association (AICFA) are also expected to speak to the participants at the mass meeting. Tomorrow's meeting comes in the wake of recent statements of displeasure by the AICFA and the HCFA over the reply that the Sugar Company of Jamaica gave to requests for the lease of the factory, by the AICFA. Allan Rickards, the Corporate Consultant to the AICFA, told The Gleaner that the association feels that the response letter, which the AICFA received on January 17, goes contrary to prevailing trends on lease or divestment arrangements in the sugar and financial industries.
"One of the stipulations they (SCJ) make is that the proposal (to lease the factory) must include a method of addressing the $1.6 billion debt that they say has been accumulating. As you know one does not lease an entity with the accumulated debt. It has never been done," lamented Mr. Rickards. "When other sugar factories were divested that was never done. When Tropicana was divested that was never done. For them to refer to the accumulated debt of the past as being an essential ingredient in the proposal to be presented, merely indicates that they have no intention of seriously considering the request for lease."
"We are very, very upset and very, very angry about this response because we feel that it is not intended to entertain any serious discussion on the matter," declared Allan Rickards, who is warning, "The Hampden Farmers will take whatever action they see fit, and I can assure you they are not going to take it lightly."
The farmers are also knocking statements issued by the Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday January 16. At that time, the statement from Mr. Patterson noted "no letter has ever been addressed to me by the cane farmers and therefore no reply can be expected from me."
Expressing concerns over the attitude of the Prime Minister, the Consultant to the AICFA stated, "To respond to the cane farmers simply by saying he was not written to (even though a copy of the letter sent to the Sugar Company of Jamaica was addressed to him), although he is technically correct, it is really an avoidance of the issue (by Mr. Patterson)." "When the Prime Minister says he was not written to, it is factual but is slightly disingenuous, since he had before him the correspondence; since the buck stops with him."
The Hampden Sugar Factory closed its doors on December 19, and the government blamed the closure on the factory's poor performance, inefficient operations and heavy indebtedness.
