Awestruck and starstruck with a twist

Feb 08, 2025 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

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Hard Truths

By GHK Lall

 Kaieteur News-President Irfaan Ali leaves me awestruck and with more than traces of being starstruck (*).  It has been that kind of breakout year for him, with similar spectaculars already on the move for 2025.  For those stuck by that asterisk at the end of the first sentence, it is being awestruck and starstruck with a twist, a little ripple.

I congratulate President Ali for a year of magnificent achievements.  Under his majestic leadership, 2024 was a year of glorious developments.  A man of such great benevolence, a regular day for him started in the predawn hours, where he is all explosive energy, with voice resonating stridently.  It is an indication of a man steeped in the learning of the ancient Greeks.

The stentorian is believed to provide confirmation of his unequalled wisdom, his leadership power.  And grandeur.  President Ali is not just all-knowing, he is all over the place.  Thus, Guyana is where it is, thanks to the singlehanded dedication of party man, government man, badman, countryman, and family man, Mohamed Irfaan Ali.  Now, the eagle-eyed in Guyana may think that I am imitating local Dr. Parrots, or Mr. Macaws in the diaspora at full ink flowing volume, fulsome expressions, about the president.

Those who do should collect my prizes from Santa Claus.  In good conscience, I really can’t accept them for making myself into a full-blown hypocrite, through lavishing hollow praise on President Ali.  Honest Guyanese know that this has no basis in reality.  President Ali is a shallow leader, a hollow man.  A bobbing head, an empty suit.  In his calmer moments, the president should be frank with himself: know that he has been about atmospherics and aerobics rather than leadership heroics.

Excellency Ali has presided over a string of record-breaking national budgets.  Yet, the universal cry from Guyana’s hungry, poverty-stricken masses haunts in three words: where’s the beef?  From vegetarians and religious citizens, that plaintive appeal can be compressed into another three words of piercing poignancy: ‘what about bread?’  Three years with trillions of budget dollars and those two sets of three words each capture Mohamed Irfaan Ali illustrious leadership prowess.  It’s the pathos of, maybe, three out of five oil enriched Guyanese hollow-eyed, empty-handed, hope-deficient.  Absorb that picture, esteemed Excellency.

The president has compiled a deserved rep (rap) as a bellower.  He listens when he runs out of steam, spaces to roam.  I admit that it was a lovely figure, not of 36-24-36 (why don’t we read of that anymore?), but $200,000.  To bring every Guyanese back to earth, including the overseas based, it was $200,000 Guyana dollars and not American ones.  In exactly one week, $200,000 took on the new identity of $100,000, with all voting age citizens now in the circle of prospective collectors, thanks to Father Christmas Ali.  Everyone should see that I have good grounds to think highly of the leader.  To put a special sheen on his gift, the money that battered Guyanese needed desperately was going to be delivered “immediately.”  Like transparency and accountability, President Mohamed Irfaan has his own ideas of what “immediately” means.  There is Merriam-Webster and there is Mohamed Irfaan.  Whatever Guyanese decide to believe, I am sticking with the white people.  October 10^th to the end of December was the eternity of 11 weeks, and the president’s “immediately” was more about the iffy, didn’t harmonize with reality.  Now January is gone, with Dr. Ashni Singh failing to deliver the cash, and Dr. Jagdeo now jumping in and saying ‘after the budget.’  My question is what about the elderly?  Will they be forced to fight the below 60 group for a place in the line?

Pensioners were told that they are among the priority people to uplift because they are already in the system.  Somebody in the PPP Government drop them down a lift.  But President Ali being a busy man (he said so himself) has already move on to other crisis matters in full battle formation.  Sugar people read the riot act.  Electricity people read another riot act.  Whose head doesn’t roll is advised to take a stroll.  What is this, a funny country with a comic book leader in charge?  An SoS is sent to Attorney General Mohabir Anil Nandlall for an education on how many riot acts this country has.  And also, if that is not the exclusive property of the Commissioner of Police.  It could be that the president is verbally riotous, or this is a riot prone country.  Time for a quick station break: Mr. President, how many of those 05:30 a.m. contractors have made good now that the deadline is over?  President Ali’s deadline, not mine December 31^st.

Something should be clear from all this.  President Ali is more brawn and bark than bite.  Brute strength to impress.  As usual, his leadership balloon bursts loudly.  I trot out this American yarn: Excellency Ali reminds of some of those Manhattan cowboys.  He is all hat and no cows.  Yes, I am awestruck and starstruck that he can pull these things off, get away with them for so long.  There will be more of the same in 2025.

(Awestruck and starstruck with a twist)

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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• Benevolence, Guyana, hard truths, President Irfaan Ali, starstruck

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