The greatest sugar industry liars – Rasheed, Ramswarup & Saran
FSC Chief Executive Deo Saran’s statement that FSC will “ensure growers interests will remain an integral part of FSC objective” after the dissolution of the Sugar Cane Growers Council is the greatest lie and deception. Anybody who falls for this crap has only himself to blame.
This intellectually retarded, speech handicapped no hoper, jonnie come too late to the industry, known hitherto more for his moral cowardice and gutless pliability, has been quickly moulded into a most dishonest and contriving minion by his masters Rasheed Ali and Gautam Ramswarup.
Freshly back from their $150,000 industry funded junket which included many a personal agendas in London, Vancouver and many US cities, the announcement of this anti farmers vendetta could not have been more treacherously planned and executed. Although, the scrapping of the SCGC has been formally announced by the regime, even the most naive, however, would see the irrefutable DNA and fingerprints of Rasheed, Ramswarup and puppet Saran in this unprecedented backstabbing of the 22,000 cane farmers and some 300, 000 who indirectly rely on the wellbeing of the industry.
Rasheed and Ramswarup’s anti farmers agenda dates back to the 1980’s when they fiercely opposed the many reforms proposed in the Sugar Industry Act of 1985 which was headed by the late Sir Ian Thomson- arguably one of the most impartial and authoritative figures in the industry. Like their colonial CSR predecessors, they sought complete immunity for FSC from any losses arising from its failures in crushing, milling, transport, sugar extraction efficiencies, wastage’s and capital improvements misadventures. They were not prepared to accept the fundamental partnership structure of the industry and argued that FSC was neither liable nor accountable to any body or any law in the country. Under the Rasheed/ Ramswarup model FSC could not be liable whether the TCTS was 8 or 80 or whether the cane trucks were delivered at 10. 00am or 10.00pm. The 25,000 farmers, 10,000 harvesting gangs, 50,000 cane cutters and thousands of lorry drivers had no choice but to accept their dictates and inefficiencies without any contractual recourse. The additional financial losses, down times of the harvesting gangs, lorry drivers , the standover cane , and the crushing and sugar losses were all part of the injustice suffered by the farmers because of the dogged opposition of Rasheed Ali and Ramwasrup. Using FSC’s money they wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal and arbitration to oppose the reforms of Ian Thomson.
That was their mindset of arrogance, ego and inequity. And that still continues today except with greater vengeance and vindictiveness.
They did not learn the lessons of the Denning Award of 1970 when the famous judge in his landmark ruling could not but add “ CSR has had a long innings and it is time for the farmers to have their innings now.” While the whole country rejoiced in the euphoria of the Denning Award in the wake of some justice for the farmers, Rasheed Ali commiserated with the CSR as within days they made the announcement to exit from Fiji. This was the greatest act of imperialist blackmail and thanks to our farmer’s leaders that they resisted CSR’s bluff. The disloyal Rasheed, however, sat deep in the inner sanctum of the enemy CSR’s camp comprising heavyweights J C Potts, Murray Aitken, Brain Robertson, Noel Dowling , Maurice Abrahams and Bill King and plotted against his own Fiji people.
Till today Rasheed and Ramswarup operate as CSR clones and their fundamental position have not changed over the years.
The right to organise and form industrial associations and unions to protect and advance their interests is guaranteed to the cane farmers under not only the abrogated Constitution but also under international charters including the regimes own. Is this just the precursor to a wholesale abolishment of all human rights, trade union movements, religious groupings and all kinds of rights of association? Like the lawyers, are we now also going to see practicing licenses for Accountants, doctors, nurses and teachers being controlled by the regime rather than their respective professional bodies? What of the future of other trade unions like, FPSA, FTUC, FTA, FNA, NFU and scores of others and their well-fed leaders?
The entire trade union movement in Fiji owes its genesis to the sacrifices, vision and courage of the pioneering and committed leaders of the sugar industry. Pundit Ajoydaya Prasad, SM Koya, KS Reddy to name a few. It is the struggle in the cane fields and suffering of our people at the hands of a exploitative colonial empire that saw the birth of The Fiji Kisan Sangh, Maha Sangh, Federation of Cane Growers and others that set the foundations for seeking some dignity and justice for them.
We should not allow their glorious legacy to be destroyed by the opportunistic greed, avarice and self-interests of these predatory unscrupulous vultures Rasheed Ali and Gautam Ramswarup and of course their new puppet Deo Saran.
