GUYANA | NICIL, GuySuCo and SEI under Colvin Heath-London: A Midas Touch

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sweptember 10, 2023 - The story of Colvin Heath-London is complex.  Not a complexity borne out of his accomplishments, but one borne out of giving four-years (2017-2020) of his work life to public service in Guyana, under the David Granger/Moses Nagamootoo A Partnership of National Unity and Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) government, which resulted in a vicious and unfortunate retaliation from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) when it returned to government in August 2020.

The irony of the PPP/C attacks on Heath-London’s integrity is that he was the one, under a previous PPP/C administration, who played a very instrumental role in helping the Government of Guyana to get the Chinese Exim Bank to finance the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, which was constructed by the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), that he at the time worked with as Group Investment Manager.

The herculean weight Heath-London carries on his back is not only due to the efforts of the PPP/C government to criminalise him by placing him before the court for executing tasks, based on directive of the APNU+AFC government and consistent with his responsibilities. 

This is also due to the politically instigated inaction of the Judiciary, for almost three years, to determine his case, which is gravely affecting his life and creating uncertainty for his future.

Village Voice News continues to tell the story of this young professional in the hope that justice would prevail.

From the descendant of a people who slaved on the sugar plantation to Chair of GuySuCo

Colvin Heath-London was born and raised primarily on the Enmore Estate, East Coast Demerara, and has been able to view the history of sugar from several vantage points. He is the son of a father, born in Leonora, West Coast Demerara to parents who were sugar workers. His grandfather worked at the Leonora Estate.

Heath-London father migrated to the United Kingdom where he studied engineering. He remigrated in 1969 and was among the first wave of professionals answering the call of the Forbes Burnham government to be return home and be part of nation-building.

Heath-London said he fully aware he is a descendant of an enslaved race, who was brought to this country in chains as captive cargo; worked on the sugar plantations without payment; sexually, physically and emotional violated; dehumanised in the worst way known to man; whips raining about their bodies as they were forced to cultivate canes to enrich enslavers and colonial powers.

His father was a factory manager on the Enmore Estate and per sugar’s culture he would have been among the privileged senior staff, enjoying the benefit of senior staff club and pool, living in a semi-gated community in a distinguished home, compound and being driven in estate vehicles and by estate staff.

When the young professional was asked how he reconciles the diametrically opposed realities from his ancestors to him as Chairman of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) he told Village Voice News the significance of the journey of his lineage never left him and helps to keep him grounded, committed to what he is doing, and striving to do so with integrity.

Heath-London said he willingly accepted the position to serve as Chair and recalled the experience was pregnant with opportunities and history. The engineer and MBA graduate from Edinburgh Business School Heriot Watt, University of Scotland said he felt he could improve the industry and lives of the workers, having gained years of experience in the sugar and rum industry in Jamaica at senior technical and managerial levels, and working through sugar modernisations projects in Central and Latin America.

My work at NICIL helped prepared the oil economy for investment and, at SEI for sustainability

In August 2017 Heath-London took up employment as head of the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Special Purpose Unit (SPU). The SPU had shared oversight responsibility for government’s policy, which included facilitating the mandate to divest/privatise four (4) sugar estates and their adjoining lands, recapitalising the remaining three (3) estates while restructuring the industry for international competitiveness, facilitating the shift from raw sugar production to refined, value added in the form of packaging, and co-generation, etc.

Appointed interim Chief Executive Office of NICIL, in 2018, Heath-London gave life to the dormant but influential government-owned agency, by enabling it to provide service at every level in the society, across ethnic and cultural lines. NICIL team was able to plan developmental projects to meet the needs of an emerging oil rich society. Public opinion states that during the period of Heath-London’s stewardship, NICIL positively impacted the lives of many across the political divide, and he was accessible to the public.

As Chairman of the state-owned Skeldon Energy Inc (SEI), Heath-London, along with others engendered operational efficiency, administrative improvements, plant rehabilitation and put in place 50MW green power expansion to the facility (in progress), with the ultimate goal of becoming sole producer of 100MW of clean energy in Guyana.

The Project Management Professional said that all his responsibilities he sought to discharge with due diligence.

Notable achievements, thanks to a supportive a team

The achievements of Heath-London, during his short stint in Guyana’s public sector, were nothing short of remarkable. A top-ranking, well known female executive described him as having the “Midas Touch.” Along with a team Colvin Heath-London spearheaded:

1. Formulating policy for enhanced management, operational efficiency, rebranding, modernisation and restructuring of NICIL, for profitability and to meet government policy objectives. Making the entity more accessible to all levels of society.
2.  Training and Management development within the group to meet policy objectives.
3. Conceptualising the Ogle Development Project to meet the needs of a rapidly growing and changing society. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/28izx1s2bdphnpd/AADs_F6IkpCD1v1Qx0hNOZnza?dl=0
   The PPP/C is following this concept in a piecemeal.
4. Organising skill and business training to former employees of the bauxite and sugar industry and residents of communities surrounding closed plants.
5. Formulating policy to enhance management, operational efficiency, rebranding, recapitalisation, modernisation and restructuring of the sugar industry.
6. Securing US$150 million bond for the recapitalisation, restructuring and modernising of the sugar industry.
7. Formulating modernisation plan to convert the sugar industry from a producer of raw sugar to a potential producer of electricity, refined sugar, juices, heat, animal feeds and fertilisers, funded by the acquired bond.
8. Convert into positive cash earners, dormant sugar assets into heritage sites, heritage hotels/resorts creating employment.
9. Convert into positive cash earners- Renovate dormant sport/recreational facilities to enhance public/community wellness. Thus, creating all-encompassing family entertainment sports facilities, while creating employment (sports clubs, swimming pools, football & cricket grounds, tennis courts park spaces).
10. Renovating airstrips across the country that were assets of the sugar and bauxite industries.
11. Enhancing and adding value to dormant and operational sugar assets.
12. Converting 500 acres of sugar lands into rice producing cultivation.
13. Leasing land to former sugar employees and communities for agricultural purposes.

The final part of this interview looks at Heath-London’s work in the depressed community of Linden/Region 10 which brought hope to a population of more than 40,000.

To be continued…..