OPINION: Mr. Mohamed asserted; Pres Ali rejected, should do more

Last Updated on Sunday, 5 July 2026, 17:44 by Denis Chabrol

by GHK Lall

Is Azruddin Mohamed a crazy loony of a fellow?  Is Mohamed Irfaan Ali really the owner of that ranch that grows millions for grass?  Could the leader of WIN be that daringly reckless?  A man pushing the gas pedal all the way to the floor.  Is Guyana’s national leader that far gone, with nothing in his defense?

These are among what the Opposition Leader asserted.  Chickens.  Cows.  Sheep.  Fish.  Shrimp.  And those are only the beginning of splendors untold.  Multimillion dollar splendors, in an endless array.  On a multibillion-dollar palatial resort for livestock and marine species.  Transformers for reliable electricity to power a vast estate that would make a Middle Eastern sheik forget his harem.  Or turn one of those fabled despotic Oriental mandarins white from anemia.  The numbers heard are staggering: hundreds of millions for this.  Hundreds more for that, and still more hundreds for whatever the mind can conceive.  Millions and more millions.

Whether Mohamed Irfaan Ali or John Doe, what is the source of all those millions?  From where and for what the billions?  Millions that easily top a billion, then tumble over a second.  What kind of presidential immunity could cover the litany of mysteries that Mr. Azruddin Mohamed exposed before the world?  It is a world of highflying ambassadors, high-powered oil executives, and high-energy investors.  And, of course, the masses of low-lying, belly-crawling, ground-dragging, citizens of Oil Guyana.  Those lacking steady electricity.  Those always short of money.  Those unable to feed their family.

Could all of this be?  Or any substantial part of it?  And all sprung from the handiwork of one man.  Can it really be true?  All at once and all in one place and all of one man?  A president, no less.  The cow and chicken palace (Estate-Gate).  Guyana’s own Animal Farm.  Resplendent in all of its gleaming luxury attachments, appliances, and accoutrements.

Being the man that I am, Mr. Ali is given opportunity to have his say, represent himself.  I refuse to criminalize and condemn him blindly.  Mr. President: stand up, step up, and open up to the Guyanese people: Not so.  Not the way Mohamed say.  No! Not that multibillion-dollar luxury ranch fit for a dozen kings.  Not while Guyanese live like helpless, wounded dogs.  Without food.  Without shelter.  Without hope.  Without tomorrow.  Retreat is not a defense.  Abuse would be a poor counterattack.  Advance and disclose fully are the only options.

Pres Ali has responded.  He says the Integrity Commission knows.  He says that his ownership precedes the presidency.  He says that loans were taken, he says that the supporting paper trail is robust.  Then, I urge the president to put all of that before credible people.  To track and dissect.  And to verify and notify.  This is not a PPP matter, an Irfaan Ali matter, anymore.  It is bigger.  The potential fallout is wider. Goes deeper.  What standing would Guyana have in the world community?

Time is not the PPP’s friend.  Nor is it President Ali’s.  Time is the worst enemy of both.  For this will be plastered all over the world in all the world’s capitals.  I am afraid that enormous damage has already been inflicted on the Guyana presidency.  On Guyana itself.  The irony is that it is the power of the digitalization of which PPP Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo spoke so authoritatively.

I respectfully recommend that he authorizes all involved (lenders, Integrity Commission, and all others) to release all documents that support what he has insisted to be the facts and circumstances surrounding this ranch.  Once given a clean bill by credible eyes, I would readily eject Azruddin Mohamed and even more readily embrace Mohamed Irfaan Ali.

I conclude quietly.  Irfaan Ali, the man, the leader, the president, has one shot: he must share the backups to the truths he claims.  The truth will set him free.  He must clear the air the right way.  Ordinary Guyanese get to be the first and last jurors.