-Ali says will organize visit, show farming techniques
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed yesterday raised a series of questions about a farm owned by President Irfaan Ali near to St Cuthbert’s Mission including how it was financed and its features although the Head of State brushed off the controversy and in a brief video said he would organize a visit to the facility.
From St Lucia where he is attending the CARICOM Heads of Government summit, Ali did not respond to any of the allegations raised by Mohamed.
Beaming as he spoke to the Starting Point programme, Ali said “Hi, I am at the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting. You see all the excitement in Guyana? You have a President who practices what he preach(es). When I come back home we will go to the farm live and you will see how to do agriculture and you will see all that we do there. Don’t worry, together we will explore great techniques”. He then gave a thumbs up.
In the nearly six years he has been President, Ali has never spoken about this farm, raising the question as to why he now saw it fit to take persons on a tour of it. The initial question to be answered is how much acres the President has control of in this area, when he acquired it and at what price? How and when the purchase was financed will naturally be one of the questions to be posed. Given the scale of the reported farm a series of questions will also be raised as to how Ali ensured that there was no conflict of interest in his role as President and a farmer. The features of the sprawling structure as shown in photos by Mohamed will also flag the issue of permissions that had been granted for the various activities on the site and whether the Environmental Protection Agency had waived the need for an environmental impact assessment of the operations.
Video
In a 23-minute video posted to his Facebook page yesterday, Mohamed stood on a road near the property and provided his own cost estimates for the infrastructure, buildings, machinery, livestock and agricultural operations.
He contended that a presidential salary of $3.7 million per month could never finance what he described as a 150-acre ranch investment amounting to what he said was more than $2.2 billion.
Throughout the presentation, Mohamed repeatedly stated that the figures he quoted were “conservative estimates.”
Beginning at the entrance to the property, Mohamed claimed that the President constructed a private 2.2-kilometre access road approximately 17 feet wide at an estimated cost of $75 million.
He said that while farmers in the area use narrow trail roads, the President built a significantly wider roadway to accommodate large trucks.
The Opposition Leader further claimed that clearing and preparing the previously forested 150-acre property would have cost no less than $300 million.
Turning to utilities, Mohamed alleged that the estate contains approximately 70 utility poles, 210 high-voltage isolators, more than 6,600 metres of electrical distribution lines and at least two transformers, placing the total electrical infrastructure at approximately $55 million.
He contrasted that with conditions at St. Cuthbert’s Mission.
“The residents in one of the closest villages to Irfaan’s estate, St. Cuthbert’s Mission, have for decades received electricity for only four hours a day, while Irfaan is powering his estate for his black-bellied sheep and Brazilian cows,” Mohamed alleged.
According to Mohamed, the ranch includes two fully automated commercial poultry tunnel houses capable of housing approximately 80,000 chickens.
He estimated the buildings alone cost about $340 million and projected that another $76 million would be invested every production cycle in chicks and feed.
Cattle
Mohamed also pointed to what he described as a large cattle operation, claiming the ranch has facilities capable of housing 500 head of cattle and currently contains about 200 cows.
He estimated the cattle shed at $40 million, the tractor and trailer used to transport feed at $15 million and valued the cattle at approximately $64 million.
He alleged that truckloads of antelope grass are brought to the ranch daily to feed the animals.
The Leader of We Invest in Nationhood, Mohamed also highlighted a large black-bellied sheep operation, estimating there are approximately 200 sheep housed in elevated pens designed to improve hygiene and reduce disease.
He valued the sheep facility at approximately $10 million and estimated the flock itself to be worth about $18 million.
He further claimed the estate houses about 50 goats in facilities valued at approximately $3 million, with the animals themselves worth another $3 million.
Nearby, Mohamed alleged there is a shelter housing approximately 500 Black Giant chickens, which he estimated at around $1.2 million. He also claimed the President operates a duck farm.
Residential
Mohamed then turned his attention to what he described as the estate’s residential and recreational facilities. According to him, the ranch includes a luxurious two-storey concrete residence, a swimming pool, outdoor entertainment area, gazebo, outdoor kitchen, two benabs and landscaped surroundings overlooking a creek. He estimated those facilities collectively cost approximately $165 million.
He further alleged the President transformed a section of the rainforest into what he described as a private kayaking circuit through the excavation of a large artificial creek, estimating that project at approximately $60 million.
Mohamed also claimed the estate includes extensive aquaculture facilities comprising tambaqui fish cages and hassa ponds. He estimated the aquaculture infrastructure alone at approximately $50 million, excluding the value of the fish stock.
According to Mohamed, the agricultural operations also include nine climate-controlled hydroponic greenhouses valued at approximately $150 million and seven shade houses for nursery plants and landscaping, which he estimated cost another $35 million.
He further alleged the property contains roughly 40 acres dedicated to citrus and fruit cultivation, including pineapple, oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes, dragon fruit, breadfruit, banana, plantain and katahar. Mohamed estimated the orchard development at approximately $250 million.
He also claimed the estate relies on a large irrigation network supplied by a commercial well system, pumps, pipelines and approximately 40 black water tanks, placing the water infrastructure at roughly $45 million.
Fleet
According to Mohamed, the ranch has its own fleet of heavy equipment, including three excavators, a grader, roller, dump truck, tractors, trailers, canters, boats, motorcycles, quads and other vehicles, which he valued at approximately $150 million.
He further alleged there are nearly a dozen staff residences on the property worth around $60 million and estimated the payroll for approximately 50 workers over a three-year period at about $180 million.
In addition, Mohamed claimed the property is enclosed by several kilometres of perimeter fencing, which he estimated at approximately $50 million.
Based on the overhead photos carried on the Team Mohamed’s Facebook page it appears that a drone was used to extensively photograph the area. This may explain why on Saturday the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said that it was probing the alleged illegal operation of a drone in the Soesdyke-Linden area.
In a post on its Facebook page, the GCAA appealed to members of the public who might have information on the alleged illegal activity to contact the authority on 592-608-4222 or the nearest police station.
Mohamed further alleged in his video there had been “no oversight boards, no public disclosure, no oversight from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission”.
He concluded by calling on the international community to scrutinise the President’s finances.
Kiskadee Watch contacted the Head of the President’s Public Relations Department, Suelle Findlay-Williams, at 12:29 pm yesterday enquiring whether the President would respond to the video by the Opposition Leader.
“Could you please indicate whether the President will be responding to these allegations today? We would appreciate any comment from the Office of the President at your earliest convenience,” Kiskadee Watch said in the WhatsApp message.
Another message was sent at 1:09 pm. There was no response to either message. A call was placed to Findlay-Williams’ phone at 5:44 pm, but there was no answer.
According to sources, an investigation was launched under the APNU+AFC government into the farming lands granted to Ali while he was Minister of Housing, with the lease having been signed by then President Bharrat Jagdeo.
“It was a very convoluted lease, very deceptive and shrouded in secrecy,” one source told the publication.
Kiskadee Watch understands that while the police were called in, the relevant information was not provided by key staff members of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission. One source said the exact location of the land was not available.
“There was no lot number or indication of its proximity to any known location. The way it was written, there was no indication where the land was and, unless you were the surveyor who marked it out, you would not know exactly where it was,” the source said.
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