OPINION: Pres. acceptance of the minister’s explanation doesn’t convince, inspire

Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 January 2026, 23:23 by Writer

by GHK Lall

It is a positive development that embattled PPP Government Minister Susan Rodrigues took her asset portfolio to Pres. Irfaan Ali. According to a Demerara Waves Online News article dated Jan 11. 2026, the president has accepted the minister’s explanation on her asset accumulation. On the face of it, this is encouraging. But is it convincing? Personally speaking, Pres. Ali may not be the best judge of explanations offered relative to what appears to be a layered and complex asset mix. On paper, the step that the minister took and where the president stands have much going for it. Diving deeper, it is not enough, what scratches the surface, turns up mud.

For who is Pres. Ali in the capacity of asset examiner, and tracking the ins and outs of how those came about? First of all, he is a government leader dealing with a besieged government minister. Things get delicate from here. If the president had impressed as having the best judgment and the keenest eye, and the clearest, most unfettered considerations, I would be the first to say that he is the man for the circumstances, and his acceptance of Minister Rodrigues’ explanation is persuasive, has no wisp of reek about it. In this instance, the president’s record has caught up with him.

One example: on access to information, what is provided for by law, something dear to the heart of Dr. Irfaan Ali, the leader was proud, more or less, to wash his hands and keep a safe distance from what is uncomplicated and straight as the new Bharat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge. If the president as the Chief Minister and Chief Tribune in the land feel uncompelled to intervene and order the Commissioner of Information to deliver, pursuant to law, then he has lost standing and priceless credibility in my book. If the president is unavailable and unengaged for something as damaging as access to information thwarted or denied (and even laffed at), then I submit that he, Dr. Irfaan Ali, would encounter an inordinate amount of difficulty to think straight, see straight, and pronounce straightly, on the acceptability of Minister Rodrigues’ portfolio and explanations. For emphasis, access to information was much simpler, and Pres Ali faltered terribly. It perplexes, therefore, as to how he could be looked upon as a clear-eyed and clean-spirited arbiter in the matter of Minister Rodrigues and her asset portfolio accumulation, which has its complexities. Bluntly, what the president did with and for the minister reads like one of those Guyana Police Force investigations of itself. More bluntly, Minister Rodrigues’ matter does not call for political eyes. It demands a reputable independent mind to delve into her situation, and issue a report on the threads, connections, and overall findings.

A second example from the president’s own book of business leaves him looking more worn and torn, rather than wise and in full command of his thinking facilities. This distorted and deformed Leader of the Opposition business has taken centerstage pushing ranking foreign diplomats to contribute. No self-respecting national leader would allow that nasty business to linger, while pretending to be above or outside the fray. It is not just a poor reflection on democracy and his government. It casts a dark shadow over claims to bright leadership and being a man in tune with his times. Or one sensitive to the political temperatures prevailing and how they create unnecessary tensions in what’s hailed as democratic space. If something as ordinary as parliamentary doors flinging open, and the Speaker springing into action, cannot flow smoothly under Pres. Ali’s watch, then I think that the Susan Rodrigues complex of concerns may be beyond his capacity, perhaps, even when he is fully focused, fully committed to giving the minister a clean bill of health, while doing justice to the Guyanese people.

With these two examples sticking like sharp thumbs in the eyes and minds of Guyanese, the president has failed citizens when they looked to him for resolutions. They didn’t expect him to disappoint. That he is did is beyond denial or deflection. Thus, I regret to say that this development of the president and the minister, on the one hand, and explanation and acceptance, on the other doesn’t help Ms. Rodrigues. It harms her, for it gives the appearance of seeking a political solution to an alleged unethical condition. It’s just that Pres. Ali’s word, judgement, acceptance, don’t carry weight.