Over the last four years, CoopEnergy Barbados has been promoting our proposed initiative to take up the divested sugar operations managed by the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC).
After initially having excellent cooperation from the government, the proposal stalled when the BAMC wrote to us after 18 months, to vitiate the contract that had been signed by the various parties.
After unsuccessfully exploring various approaches to resolving the situation, and consulting with our Special General Meeting held on12 Sept. 2026, CoopEnergy is now able to update our various publics on the details of the matter.
The attached Press Release outlines our position, and signals our willingness to publicly address CoopEnergy’s vision and role in the initiative. It also emphasises our ongoing interest in pursuing the proposal’s eventual success.
Thank you for your patience with our efforts, to date, to have the matter resolved amicably.
Cooperative Regards
Hon. Secretary
The Barbados Sustainable Energy Cooperative Society Ltd.
Press Release – BAMC Divestment Cancelled by Government
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9 responses to “Press Release – BAMC Divestment Cancelled by Government”
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It is unfortunate that a project that promised so much appears to be still born. It would not surprised the blogmaster if a foreign entity enters stage right to benefit from the prep work that has been completed.
“This is who we are” – Source: #bigworks
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This maybe best understood as a blessing in disguise.
We’ve always held the view that this project merely loiters on the fringes of the energy business and held little potential to dominate the sector.
Like it or not, domination has always been the central objective of traditional energy suppliers. And in this they can rely on elected officials internationally.
Within a business culture of dominance minor contributors are inevitable driven to the wall.
It’s a lesson the cooperative movement has long recognized but has failed to sufficiently respond.
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Meanwhile Minister Indar Weir has moved on to an obscure ministry in his quest to achieve senior minister status. Albeit his strings were being pulled.
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@ Pacha
You have long held such a view, …maybe even correctly,
…but in Bushie’s humble opinion, only so because perhaps co-ops should not really seek to go about building virtuous structures in such mafia dominated territories.But who knows, it may well be that they have at least succeeded in making a major point to Bajan brass, …and done so in a way that no amount of blogging, social media pressure, or lotta long talk could have…
LOL.
Bushie can’t wait to hear government’s new definition of ‘enfranchisement’ as has been pontificated at the various reparations begging sessions, given their alleged actions with this apparent no-brainer with sugar and ordinary Bajans – including sugar workers who for generations were exploited by this very business.It looks to the bushman like, rather than being perceived (as you do) as a ‘minor contributor’ in a culture of dominance, the coop may have been seen by others, as a potential major threat to the status quo… economically, socially, and politically…
It should present an interesting PR challenge for this government to sell this new ‘walk-back’ – especially to the sugar workers who were promised so much.
Perhaps this explains the deafening silence…What a place!
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One is left to wonder where the Unions are regarding the ownership position offered workers? Have the employee owners been offered a Board seat?
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The trade union movement stopped being a force for a few years now.
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Bushie
Well, with Co-opEnergy we were dealing was an energy project instead of a sugar production enterprise, per se.
To us sugar was merely a byproduct but energy generation was the primary product. Maybe we are wrong. Maybe the study makes sense of this.
Even with those circumstances it is our conclusion that Co-opEnergy was behind on the most advance science of sugar cane as a feedstock.
That that science points to the production of another product which because of an active NDA this writer cannot currently talk about.
Our overarching point was that if a monopoly and government concessions were good enough for Emera and others that Co-opEnergy should have been afforded the same playing field.
And if Co-opEnergy desired to make a play within the energy space that it should be, with government’s help, seek to be primary, not dependent on any other market participant to purchase its output.
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@ Pacha
“Our overarching point was that if a monopoly and government concessions were good enough for Emera and others that Co-opEnergy should have been afforded the same playing field”When has any government in Barbados ever sought to level the playing field at the risk of upsetting the entrenched corporate vultures. Don’t be surprised if Coop Energy’s business plan ends up in the hands of one of the local neo Plantocrat puppet masters.
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Dullard
Never. Indeed, this government could not even be relied upon to supply the promised financial statements to Co-opEnergy as part of their due diligence process.
The implication here is that the Co-op was expected to buy a pig in a poke. Proving, that any government of Barbados is a captive of business interests and has no consideration for any other set of forces.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.