Dear Editor,
Land ahoy! There’s a sheepfold. Followed by a cow palace. A rich field for fowls. Then, a shrimp lake. One could get lost in a daze. For those are only a glimpse of what grazes in Guyana’s Pres Ali’s grand garden. A mere handful of what teems in Excellency Ali’s lush nature resort. His Animal Farm that functions with Space Age precision. And a budget to match.
By any count, Pres Ali’s pastoral paradise tucked behind the stone façade and bushes of the Soesdyke-Linden Highway is like a Rockefeller Trust. A combination of hacienda and encomienda; one fitting for a maharajah. Only the best for the best: in beauty, what billions make happen. I congratulate Pres Ali on his prowess with remarkable success. I plead with my national leader: a president who is more than a president. One bigger and better than any Wall Street powerhouse. Move over Morgan Stanley. PPP Guyana has Mohamed Irfaan Ali. What’s the secret, skipper, of all this success? I won’t tell.
Pres Ali has been forthcoming, a barrel of cooperation, truckloads of transparency. Assets accumulated before becoming president. By golly! Anything of this grandiosity takes some doing! For that means the flow of funds, and the alignment of the stars: bold banks backing a big hitter of a batter. Remember: back then he was only a minister. When he was earning less than a million, maybe half, monthly. I learn again about ‘too big to fail.’ Ah, the talent to identify a tycoon on the move, a star waiting to be born.
I recall that it was in Guyana’s sleepy, prehistoric, paleolithic age. That is, its distressed nonoil era. Loans were low. Movement was slow. But the president said it: loans. I congratulate the now president on his superb, platinum, creditworthiness back then. I behold a budding fairytale in the making, waiting to burst into the scene. Taking notes. Must scribble one of those. Try this title: Dreams come true.
What was needed in circumstances involving big lands for a big man with a big appetite for risk was a big bank. Perhaps, a syndicate of such big banks required. To cushion the risks of lending enormous sums for a project of that spectacular dimensions. Banks exist for risk-taking, don’t they? On a conservative scale, naturally, since it’s other people’s money. For the dead certain, can’t lose stuff-special livestock breeds, rare aquaculture species, a riot of seeds, and other Medellin-type arboreal touches-put into it. Those all cost quite a bundle of millions. Think billions. It would take more than one bank to lend one man that many millions. A consortium taking big risks based on what collaterals, what assurances, what guarantors? Those are the products of my inquiring mind. Regarding guarantors, who would those be? Pres Ali should find it easy to trot them out and line them up. Former presidents could be among such helpful souls. Ready to give a young man a break. A good deed done. But what about the little people of Guyana? What strokes for such folks?
Street level, grassroots, minibus riding Guyanese have to line up, wait, and hold their breath for 10 years or more for a single plot of land. There must be a different standard at work for other citizens. Those who are not political leaders, not business leaders, not government ministers, and not members of parliament. Because it seems that for every square inch of house lot space that a teacher, soldier, or pensioner is awarded, fat cats and bigshots snare an acre. And what takes 10 years for the small people require 10 hours, maybe 10 minutes, to get approved by the relevant authorities for Guyanese big people. If all this is off the reservation, then I plead to the kind in Guyana for enlightenment. Where am I going wrong?
Land ahoy! Compass bearings: Long Creek, Linden Highway. Pres Ali is in for long days. There’s a silver lining. He says he has the goods. Hopefully, they’re that good.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
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