At a time when many in the US have expressed revulsion at the disclosures that President Trump made US$2.2b from cryptocurrency and other ventures in 2025, the people of Guyana are now coming to grips with revelations about an extensive farm owned by President Ali along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.
The revelation of the farm was made by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed in a 23-minute video on the site and what it was said to contain. For months, Mr Mohamed has crisscrossed the country to expose what he has classified as corruption in government and mismanagement of the country’s resources. His efforts are welcome in the ambit of the need to help ensure accountability and in the backdrop of the clear government hamstringing of watchdogs such as the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
This is not the first time that questions of enrichment have arisen as it relates to senior members of the PPP/C. Indeed, it had arisen before when Mr Ali was the Minister of Housing and enquiries were raised about a construction that he was undertaking. Then, there was no satisfaction to be had about the accumulation of wealth apparently beyond his means. The generic excuses whenever these are matters are raised revolve around “generational wealth” – even when that is not evident – assistance from family members overseas and personal savings.
Post the Jagan era, questions about enrichment had first arisen around former President Jagdeo and his house acquisition when the salary for a President was quite low. The question of his wealth was never resolved which is why there is a slim to none chance that the questions that should be answered by President Ali will be addressed. Mr Ali has thus far been able to avoid judicial examination of 19 charges against him connected to Pradoville 2 which had reeked of PPP/C overreach to create sumptuous settings for its party royalty.
It must be remembered also that when questions were raised this year about real estate purchases here and abroad by Culture, Tourism and Industry Minister, Susan Rodrigues it was President Ali who had come to her rescue and declared that all was above board. His intervention – without the presentation of any evidence – casts an interesting light on the questions that will naturally rise now about his acquisitions and business development.
Those like President Ali who pursue high public office must decide if they are prepared to be servant leaders or they would like to be entrepreneurs growing wealthy – stealthily – at the same time that they are supposed to be dedicating all of their energies to nation building and securing the country’s interests particularly in the era of oil and gas. This question also has a significant bearing on other senior members of government who may also be active entrepreneurs. It will not be lost on the public that President Ali has never spoken about this farm and its attributes and is apparently only now prepared to do so because of the exposure.
In a well-ordered society with institutional strength, when questions about conspicuous spending and enrichment among public officials arise there are specific pathways through which these are addressed. In the case of Guyana the premier evaluation should be conducted by the Integrity Commission which governs a code of conduct and is supposed to be in possession of the annual returns of the gazetted public officers for the requisite examination whenever that arises. Unfortunately, the Integrity Commission is another of those PPP/C-controlled bodies that do not function independently and cannot be expected to fulfill the tasks as set out in their legislation.
There is no public evidence that the Integrity Commission engaged itself in the matter of Minister Rodrigues’s real estate purchases to determine whether the relevant declarations were made and whether her earnings would allow her to finance these acquisitions. There was no broader law enforcement investigation to determine whether properties were being assigned to relatives to cover enrichment.
Former Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Sherwyn Greaves quit his post in February, 2025 when questions surfaced about a real estate acquisition in New York. The matter of how he afforded it was not pursued by the Integrity Commission or law enforcement agencies. Unsurprisingly, the government washed its hands of the matter. By its commandeering of law enforcement and watchdog bodies the PPP/C government decides who is to be pursued and who is to be let off.
We now come to President Ali’s holdings. In a very brief video recorded in St Lucia on Sunday he was flippant and made light of the questions that had arisen in Georgetown about his extensive farm. It could have been a deliberate attempt to appear unmoved about the hullabaloo or on the other hand a projection that he was untouchable and protected by immunity.
Whatever it is the President must answer questions if he wants to convey that neither he nor anyone else is above the law.
-When did he acquire the acreage that is the subject of scrutiny, what is its size and was it all acquired in one transaction?
-Did he acquire acreage when he was Minister of Housing and if so, did that not pose a conflict of interest?
-What was the price of the land, how was it valued and how was it paid for? Was any bank involved in the purchase?
-When did development of the land begin?
-Was a plan lodged with the Environmental Protection Agency and the relevant local government body? Was there a requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment and if so was one done or waived?
-Was permission sought for development of a man-made lake utilising a public water course?
-What was the scale of development of the site prior to 2020? What precisely was developed at the site since August of 2020?
-Upon becoming President in 2020 what steps were taken to prevent commingling of public duties with private interests as it relates to the farm?
-Are all services provided to the farm fully paid for and at market rates?
-Were the livestock purchased from a public authority?
-Which agency provides veterinary services to the farm?
-Are goods from the farm sold on the open market?
-Have electrical installations been provided by GPL and if so when was this application for services made?
-What is the running cost to operate this farm and how is this expense met?
-How much time Mr President are you devoting to the running of this farm on a weekly basis?
-What is the total investment to date in the farm?
There are undoubtedly many other questions that will arise in the course of the President answering these. Hopefully the President will understand that the rule of law and its ascendancy over him requires answers and that without these the very fabric of his presidency and authority is at risk of unravelling.
Discussion