Farmers funding Pandora's operations
- GRDB official
Stabroek News
February 3, 2004
Rice sector official, Nigel Dharamlall says claims by Pandora Rice Inc that it has injected $150M into the industry cannot be backed up.
Dharamlall, marketing manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) says Pandora, as much as it was making a profit was still largely indebted to the farmers, using their money to finance its operations.
Pandora faces legal action over millions of dollars owed to farmers. Chief Executive Officer of Pandora, Schehera-zade Ishoof, in an open letter to Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh, says her company is committed to settling all debts in a timely fashion, adding that there has never been any deviation or question about this policy. "We are dedicated to restoring a better system for payments and remain firm in our desire to contribute to the betterment of the rice industry."
Ishoof says her company entered into an arrangement with the government to run the Burma Rice Mill last April at a time when investors were avoiding the industry and banks were foreclosing on loans.
According to Ishoof, Pandora has only been managing for ten months and as such needs more time to make repairs. "None of our detractors are prepared to do this," she writes. "Only through a determined long-term effort can the facility be properly restored."
She says as with any enterprise in its fledgling state, Pandora's shortcomings and lapses had led to the negative perception of the intentions of the company, a situation that it deeply regrets and would try to correct.
She notes that it is regrettable that no contact was made to facilitate a dialogue with the farmers and the Rice Producers Association (RPA) as was done in the past and something which would have definitely averted some of the unfortunate turn of events.
She says MARDS which ran the Burma mill still owes banks, its suppliers, the NIS, PAYE taxes and ex-employees hundred of millions of dollars and is mired in litigation. Only government bailouts saved it. Ishoof says the hue and cry about poor farmers suffering could well be relevant to how the mill operated in the first place. She says in its dealing with the Burma operations, Pandora has discovered an opportunistic network as having been the normal course of management whilst under government control.
But Dharamlall says for Ishoof to claim Burma was bankrupt prior to Pandora's takeover is misleading and should only be taken seriously with facts. He says the GRDB has always been ready to meet Pandora, adding that he has helped secure markets for the company.