Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed today rejected President Irfaan Ali’s claim that his farm is less than half the size alleged by the opposition, challenging the President to provide evidence to disprove the allegations rather than attack his credibility.
Mohamed, speaking in response to Ali’s press conference yesterday, said the opposition had evidence to support its claim that the President’s property is approximately 150 acres, adding that this figure was “conservative.”
“The President stood up yesterday and said the farm is less than half of what we said it is. That is a lie,” Mohamed said, adding that the opposition had used international geo-satellite data, including Google satellite imagery, to determine the size of the property.
He challenged Ali to make good on an earlier commitment to invite the media to the farm and conduct a live broadcast from the property. “You said earlier that when you return from overseas, you would invite the media to the farm and go live. Now it is the appropriate time. What happened?”
Mohamed argued that the identity or credibility of the person presenting information should not determine whether the information itself is true. “If what I said about your farm is false, prove it. If what I said about your government is false, prove it,” Mohamed said. “Do not attack me and ignore the matter at hand.” He also challenged the President to disprove allegations raised by the opposition concerning government contracts, hospitals, the oil and the gas sector.
Mohamed addressed Ali’s characterization of him as a criminal, questioning whether the President had only reached that conclusion after Mohamed became his political opponent.“When did you know I was a criminal? Was it when you were collecting my money? Was it when you rolled around in my bulletproof vehicles?” Mohamed asked. “If you have evidence that I am a criminal, why are you withholding it from the state? You too should be charged in that case. Take it to the police. Go to court.”
“Every time I release these videos exposing corruption in the PPP, instructions are given to arrest people and try to have them implicate me in a crime,” he alleged, questioning the President’s repeated reference to an alleged $191 billion in tax evasion, and arguing that the figure did not correspond with the reported US allegation. “The reported US alleged indictment figure is US$50 million, which is Guyana dollars $10 billion. So where did this $191 billion come from?”
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