Recalling that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley promised to pay cane farmers if the People’s National Movement was elected to Government, the Association of Combined Cane Farmers are now calling on him to set a date for payment before August.
In a press conference at the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce yesterday, association chairman Balram Ramdial pleaded with Rowley to honour the remaining $103 million owed to cane farmers for the diversification of the trade following the 2008 closure of the sugar industry.
However, the association, which comprises four bodies representing 3,481 former cane farmers, are worried after Rowley said farmers would not be paid.
In Parliament last Wednesday, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar asked Rowley about the payments and he replied that legal advice against the payment was given by her former attorney general and said he would not disregard it.
During a political meeting in Couva last August, Rowley told supporters: “I want to say to cane farmers, we of the PNM have no record of turning our backs on a Government commitment made by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and since this Government has done that, we will pay you the money.”
The farmers said no legal impediments existed as the most of the money was from the European Union (EU) and not taxpayers’ dollars.
Ramdial is now questioning whether Rowley was confusing former cane farmers with former employees of Caroni (1975) Ltd.
He clarified that cane farmers were contractors who produced the raw material for the Caroni (1975) Ltd and the Sugar Manufacturing Company Ltd.
He said $130 million is to be paid to them in three tranches of $27 million, $75 million and $28 million, based on a rate of $105 per tonne of cane a farmer would have supplied during a period between 2002 to 2007.
The first tranche was paid in July 2016 and the second was due last October with the last payment to be done before the end of 2016.
The first two payments are funded by the EU while the Government has to fund the other. This agreement was signed by the EU, the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Agriculture under the People’s Partnership in 2015.
“This is an agreement that the farmers made with Government and we expect the Government to honour it even if there was a charge of party in the Government in September 2015.
“One Hundred and three million dollars was allocated for payment to cane farmers in 2016 and we see that as good intention by the Government.
“Seventy-five million of that was supposed to be paid out to farmers in December 2015 but that was not done.
“We would like an early date to be set for the payout of $75 million to farmers. If the Prime Minister can give us a date for the final payout before August 2016, we will be grateful,” Ramdial said.