“He [Clark] forgets that the Fiji Sugar Corporation is the biggest receiver of government “handouts”. It is well known that FSC is bankrupt, kept afloat by government guaranteed loans of which another $202m loan guarantee was approved by Parliament two weeks ago. FSC to date owes government $174 million but some $900m of taxpayers funds have already been written off since 2002. It seems it is alright for FSC to get money from the government but not for farmers.”
NFU general secretary Mahendra Chaudhry
The National Farmers Union wants an apology from FSC Chief Executive Graham Clark for the insulting remark he made about cane farmers “always looking for handouts”, says general secretary Mahendra Chaudhry.
“He forgets that the Fiji Sugar Corporation is the biggest receiver of government “handouts”. It is well known that FSC is bankrupt, kept afloat by government guaranteed loans of which another $202m loan guarantee was approved by Parliament two weeks ago.
“FSC to date owes government $174 million but some $900m of taxpayers funds have already been written off since 2002.
“It seems it is alright for FSC to get money from the government but not for farmers,” Mr Chaudhry said.
He was responding to a statement from Mr Clark in today’’s Fiji Times in response to a farmer’s query. Clark was reported saying, “Why should the government give you money? Work hard and do something for yourselves.”
“This is an insult to the growers and he must apologise to them. On the one hand he insults the farmers, in another report in today’s paper he claims growers are a very important part of the industry and FSC will work closely with them in an effort to revive the industry. ”
“He must first learn to respect the growers before he can get their trust and support, ” Mr Chaudhry said.
Clark is a newcomer to the industry. He may not know that while government has given tens of millions of dollars to the tourism industry over the years and to support the international golf tournament at Natadola, cane farmers have received virtually nothing from the government.
If they are asking for assistance today, it is because this government has done everything possible to try and suppress growers’ organisations and silence the voice of the cane farmer.
"For 8 years now growers have not had a say in the affairs of the industry.
“We call on FSC to talk to the growers’ representatives if it wants their cooperation in getting the industry out of its current morass,” Mr Chaudhry said.
A case in point is the current situation at the Labasa Mill. FSC says it has so far lost 58 hours of crushing time because of insufficient cane supply.
“We had warned them that this will happen because farmers do not have sufficient funds to meet the cost of harvesting,” Mr Chaudhry said. They did not listen to us.
“He forgets that the Fiji Sugar Corporation is the biggest receiver of government “handouts”. It is well known that FSC is bankrupt, kept afloat by government guaranteed loans of which another $202m loan guarantee was approved by Parliament two weeks ago.
“FSC to date owes government $174 million but some $900m of taxpayers funds have already been written off since 2002.
“It seems it is alright for FSC to get money from the government but not for farmers,” Mr Chaudhry said.
He was responding to a statement from Mr Clark in today’’s Fiji Times in response to a farmer’s query. Clark was reported saying, “Why should the government give you money? Work hard and do something for yourselves.”
“This is an insult to the growers and he must apologise to them. On the one hand he insults the farmers, in another report in today’s paper he claims growers are a very important part of the industry and FSC will work closely with them in an effort to revive the industry. ”
“He must first learn to respect the growers before he can get their trust and support, ” Mr Chaudhry said.
Clark is a newcomer to the industry. He may not know that while government has given tens of millions of dollars to the tourism industry over the years and to support the international golf tournament at Natadola, cane farmers have received virtually nothing from the government.
If they are asking for assistance today, it is because this government has done everything possible to try and suppress growers’ organisations and silence the voice of the cane farmer.
"For 8 years now growers have not had a say in the affairs of the industry.
“We call on FSC to talk to the growers’ representatives if it wants their cooperation in getting the industry out of its current morass,” Mr Chaudhry said.
A case in point is the current situation at the Labasa Mill. FSC says it has so far lost 58 hours of crushing time because of insufficient cane supply.
“We had warned them that this will happen because farmers do not have sufficient funds to meet the cost of harvesting,” Mr Chaudhry said. They did not listen to us.
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