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Setting up a Sugar Industry Secretariat should be considered in light of the dissolution next month of the Sugar Commission of Fiji (SCOF), says outgoing CEO of the Sugar Cane Growers Council Surendra Sharma.
And he has drawn up a proposal on how this could be done, which he said he had discussed informally with industry stakeholders such as the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC), Sugar Research Institute of Fiji (SRIF), Sugar Cane Growers Council (SCGC), Sugar Cane Growers Fund (SCGF) and the Sugar Industry Task Force/Sugar Unit of the Ministry of Sugar.
“With the dissolution of the Sugar Commission of Fiji there will be a vacuum created with regard to the sugar industry being provided the services of a secretariat type facility that SCOF was able to facilitate within its location in the Sugar House,” Sharma told Fiji Live.
“I have actually discussed this informally with a number of key industry stakeholders as well as government representatives in the sugar unit/task force and they are very receptive to the idea of a sugar secretariat.
“The proposal has been conveyed more formally to each stakeholder and it is for them to decide which way they wish to take,” he said.
The main elements of his proposal are:
• The formalization of the setting up of the Sugar Industry Secretariat (SIS) can be by way of a Decision of the stakeholders comprised of the following as a Sugar Industry Secretariat Management Board : CEOs of FSC, SCGC, SRIF, SCGF and the Head of the Sugar Unit of the Ministry of Sugar;
• The annual budget of the SIS will be contributed equally by the stakeholders comprised in the Management Board. Other financing methodologies can be sought to be put in place once the SIS shows its utility as a service/facilitative centre. An option is the re-allocation of funds from the ‘sale’ of operating assets of SCOF into a fund for financing the SIS budget;
• The Sugar Industry Secretariat will be profiled externally as a ‘sugar industry coordination organ’ sponsored by the industry stakeholders;
• The Sugar Industry Secretariat Management Board will appoint a Coordinator of the SIS and secretarial staff to provide the requisite services to the sugar industry and stakeholders;
• The SIS will rent the offices currently occupied by SCOF and contribute an internal rent to the new ownership of the Sugar House as well as take over/rent all furniture, fittings and office equipment from the new ownership of
the chattels previously owned by SCOF at a pre-agreed value;
• The SIS will have offices and facilities available for visiting consultants, advisors, visiting delegations etc and arrange meeting venue within its premises and logistical support for all meetings, industry consultations and missions etc that are regarded as conducive to the well- being of the sugar industry and are likely to benefit the industry. It will also maintain a body of information about the sugar industry for the stakeholders, other interested parties and the general public; and
• A parallel service will be the maintaining of a Technical Assistance Service (TAS) tied to the SIS. The TAS will be an enabling service that would draw external/donor funding and expertise to promote and lobby the interests of the sugar industry.
Sharma says the advantage of such a secretariat is that it is not intended to have any mandate to oversee or coordinate the work or functions of the other stakeholders such as was the case with SCOF.
“This will purely be a facilitative organ that works for the industry and stakeholders as a service center. I believe the lack of a facilitative organ will be felt sooner rather than later by the sugar industry, when SCOF ceases to exist after the end of June or so.
“A common, convivial meeting-ground in an industry that has such divergent interest groups is an imperative, not an option,” Sharma stressed.
