THE Sugar Master Award remains the foundational strength of Fiji’s sugar sector despite historical and political disruptions, says Sugarcane Growers Council chief executive officer Vimal Dutt.
While addressing stakeholders at a sugar industry workshop in Lautoka yesterday, Mr Dutt delivered a presentation approaching the topic from the growers .
Mr Dutt cautioned against hasty alterations to a legal framework that has successfully structured industry operations for decades.
“There have been a lot of disruptions in the history of the sugar industry, politically as well,” he said.
Mr Dutt said the Master Award had been the pillar guiding the industry all along these years despite frequent claims from critics that the document was obsolete.
“Few can identify specific clauses requiring amendment when challenged. Attempts to alter its intricate provisions have repeatedly proven difficult due to its balanced drafting,” he said.
Mr Dutt said the Master Award was created in 1989 under the Sugar Industry Act of 1984 and that any modern attempt to review the text must be thorough, transparent, and fair to all parties involved.
“It is such a comprehensive document, although it is very thin that if you want to remove one word and replace it by another word, it is very difficult –great minds have worked hard on it.”
Mr Dutt urged stakeholders to distinguish clearly between reviewing the existing provisions and attempting a complete reform.
He reminded attendees that the original framework was crafted by legal experts and consultants hired by both growers and millers, making its provisions deeply interconnected and resilient to casual modifications.
