Opposition MP Jone Usamate has launched a scathing attack on the former Sugar Minister Charan Jeath Singh, saying his reassignment was not a realignment but a necessary move to save an industry that “could no longer survive his leadership”.
In a statement, Mr Usamate said the Prime Minister’s decision signalled the end of what he described as a disastrous chapter for the sugar sector.
“The Prime Minister’s decision to move Hon. Charan Jeath Singh is not a realignment; it is a mercy killing for an industry that could no longer survive his leadership,” he said.
Mr Usamate accused the former minister of prioritising overseas travel over addressing deepening problems in the sugar industry.
“For three years, we were treated to a masterclass in global tourism disguised as ministerial work,” he said.
“While the Minister was busy racking up thousands in travel expenses, defending more than $111,000 for his chairman’s trips while his own travel costs hit nearly $138,000, the people who actually sweat for this country were being fed a diet of empty promises.”
He said assurances given in Parliament had failed to materialise on the ground.
“He stood in the August House and gave his ‘solemn assurance’ that no stone would be left unturned, that not a single stick of cane would be left standing,” Mr Usamate said.
“Look at the fields today. Eighty-five thousand tonnes of cane are left standing, rotting in the sun from Sigatoka to Rakiraki.”
Mr Usamate described the unharvested cane as a betrayal of farming families.
“That isn’t just standing cane. That is the discarded livelihood of families who trusted a man’s word,” he said.
“It is millions of dollars in lost income for people who can least afford it.”
He also criticised the minister’s response to calls for compensation and assistance.
“When farmers asked for help, he gave them ‘the rules’. When they asked for compensation, he gave them ‘politics’,” he said.
“It seems the only rules that were flexible were the ones governing his own travel budget.”
Mr Usamate said the Prime Minister’s decision to move Mr Singh to Culture and Heritage carried symbolic weight.
“It is poetic irony. Under his watch, the sugar industry has become a thing of the past — a heritage site of what used to be a thriving national backbone.”
“You don’t move a winner,” Mr Usamate added.
