Dear Editor,
In August 2019, a community assessment project led by final-year University of Guyana students revealed profound challenges facing the youth of Tiger Bay, Georgetown. Coordinated by Ms. Secola Thomas, the three-week study documented a community in distress, highlighting issues including widespread low self-esteem, neglect by both parental and educational systems, and an environment hindered by crime and poverty.
Critically, the researchers found that students faced stigmatization from teachers and that many, despite possessing untapped potential, were slow learners due to a lack of support at home and from the school system. The most alarming finding was the expression of suicidal thoughts among some of the Tiger Bay teenagers. The report concluded that unlocking this potential required a structured and supportive environment, a need that was acutely absent then. That environment is still absent today after a promise made to these people by President Irfaan Ali in August 2020 (more than five years ago).
In August 2020, following his election, President Ali visited Tiger Bay, signaling a commitment to the community. Along with the First Lady and corporate partners, he distributed relief hampers and publicly affirmed his government’s responsibility to uplift the most vulnerable, especially those in Tiger Bay who he called his “neigbours”. He stated he would personally take responsibility for the community’s improvement. Among his partners at the time was the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), and Mohamed’s Enterprise (yes Mr. Azruddin Mohamed, the incoming Leader of the Opposition).
However, the transition from stated commitment to tangible, sustainable action remains unclear. As Benjamin Franklin aptly stated, “Well done is better than well said.” Years after the initial pledge, the measurable progress for Tiger Bay appears acutely limited. The community’s core needs, as identified in the 2019 study and still relevant today, require a comprehensive, long-term strategy. A serious intervention would have moved beyond temporary relief such as Sunday meal, to address the foundational causes of intergenerational poverty. This was never done by the Irfaan Ali administration. The required multi-faceted approach includes:
Safe and Adequate Housing: The development of affordable housing in a safer location away from Tiger Bay, with reliable infrastructure including roads, electricity, and water. The Government has to take a lead on this to fulfil these August 2020 promises from President Ali.
Public-Private-Community Partnership: A tripartite housing initiative between the government, private sector, and residents, enabling homeownership through sweat equity and managed financing to ease the financial burden on the Tiger Bay families.
Healing-Centered Community Infrastructure: The creation of spaces conducive to mental and social well-being, including playgrounds, green areas, and a community library.
Specialized Psycho-Social Support: Deploying dedicated Ministry of Health teams to provide consistent trauma-informed counseling and empowerment programmes for youth and study and educational support for the children of school age.
Holistic Family Empowerment: Implementing programmes through the Ministry of Human Services and other agencies focused on financial literacy, vocational training, and parenting support to break the cycle of poverty. The end result should have been a team of parents who are healthy supporters of their children.
Community Integration: Fostering leadership and mentorship within the community to build bridges with the wider society and support stable family structures.
Had such a plan been systematically implemented starting in 2020, the Tiger Bay community would likely be on a measurable path toward self-sufficiency today and would have been a booming business district today.
Recent public relations activities, such as orchestrated cooking events featuring high-level government CEOs, raise serious questions about the administration’s priorities. To see the CEO of GPL handing a pot-spoon to the President illustrates that this man has no time for his real job, but is prepared to kiss a “derriere” to keep his job despite his underperformance. Who suffers from these Putin like conditions; the people of Guyana. These spectacles suggest a focus on short-term imagery over the substantive work of governance—work that includes fixing the electricity grid, revitalizing the sugar industry, and implementing the housing and social solutions outlined above.
In the final analysis, the people of Tiger Bay require concrete actions that change lives, not another photo opportunity and loose messages of “give me a light and pass it on” in reference to the weed smoking message from a Minister. The promise from President Ali from 2020 to the people of Tiger Bay (his apparent neighbours), remains largely unfulfilled. It is time to translate rhetoric into reality and deliver the structured, sustained support that the community needed years ago. The potential of Tiger Bay’s residents is undeniable; it is the political will to act, of the PPP and President Ali, that has been found wanting. Or is it more of the empty vessels in the PPP keeping the most noise?