<div id="attachment_108962" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width:310px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Amendments.jpg"><imgclass="size-medium wp-image-108962" title="Mac Maclachlan" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Amendments-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Mac Maclachlan</p></div>
<p><strong style="font-size:13px;">For the first time in history, there are three associations delivering cane to B.S.I. That is now legally possible because of amendments to the Sugar Industry Act pushed through by G.O.B. last Monday. Those amendments have been roundly criticized because one, there was no consultation with stakeholders and two…it is believed that the Act needs a much more comprehensive overhaul. Today ASR’s Vice President of International Relations Mac Maclachlan agreed that there needs to be much more where the Sugar Industry Act is concerned, and that will happen in due course.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Mac Maclachlan, Vice President, International Relations, ASR</strong></p>
<p><em>“I think that everybody would agree in the industry, including the government, that we need fundamental reforms to the Sugar Act in due course. Those reforms can’t take place immediately. I think it would be sensible to have full stakeholder engagement in those reforms so that everybody can feel that they own whatever comes out of that process in the end. I think that what happened before was as the Prime Minister said to basically implement the changes that the Supreme Court had asked the government to make. I think that an important part of looking at the future is how the Sugar Act can be amended to ensure that it is putting regulation where regulation is need and taking regulation away where it is not needed, to enable the industry, and this is a private industry, to move forward in the best way for all industry stakeholders. But that’s not something that’s going to happen today or tomorrow. I believe that’s going to be a part of the discussion of the Strategic Development Plan.”</em></p>
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<p><strong style="font-size:13px;">For the first time in history, there are three associations delivering cane to B.S.I. That is now legally possible because of amendments to the Sugar Industry Act pushed through by G.O.B. last Monday. Those amendments have been roundly criticized because one, there was no consultation with stakeholders and two…it is believed that the Act needs a much more comprehensive overhaul. Today ASR’s Vice President of International Relations Mac Maclachlan agreed that there needs to be much more where the Sugar Industry Act is concerned, and that will happen in due course.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Mac Maclachlan, Vice President, International Relations, ASR</strong></p>
<p><em>“I think that everybody would agree in the industry, including the government, that we need fundamental reforms to the Sugar Act in due course. Those reforms can’t take place immediately. I think it would be sensible to have full stakeholder engagement in those reforms so that everybody can feel that they own whatever comes out of that process in the end. I think that what happened before was as the Prime Minister said to basically implement the changes that the Supreme Court had asked the government to make. I think that an important part of looking at the future is how the Sugar Act can be amended to ensure that it is putting regulation where regulation is need and taking regulation away where it is not needed, to enable the industry, and this is a private industry, to move forward in the best way for all industry stakeholders. But that’s not something that’s going to happen today or tomorrow. I believe that’s going to be a part of the discussion of the Strategic Development Plan.”</em></p>
View the full article