Dear Editor,
Irfaan Ali’s grand rhetoric about procurement violations costing officials their jobs is proving to be nothing more than hollow political theatrics, empty words carefully crafted to mislead and pacify the Guyanese people while corruption, favoritism, and blatant abuse continue unchecked under his watch.
The evidence is glaring. The Public Procurement Commission found that the Belle Vue Pump Station contract awarded to Tepui violated multiple procurement laws, yet not a single official was disciplined, dismissed, or held accountable. Instead, the people of Belle Vue and surrounding communities are the ones paying the price, left to suffer daily because of an incomplete and mismanaged project.
The Goed Fortuin Pump Station contract tells a similar story. It was not awarded to the lowest most responsive bidder, in direct violation of procurement laws, yet again no consequences followed. Instead, the project has cycled through three contractors and remains incomplete to this day, a glaring symbol of incompetence, mismanagement, and political protectionism.
At the regional and ministerial levels, the abuse of the “three-quote procurement method” has become alarmingly rampant, with REOs and Permanent Secretaries accused of manipulating contracts with little fear of scrutiny or sanction. In Region 3, serious allegations persist regarding direct connections between the RHO and companies benefiting from contracts in the Health Delivery service, yet privileges remain untouched and accountability absent. Contractors continue to constantly complain but refuse to speak openly for fear of victimisation.
This is not governance rooted in transparency or justice. With no Public Accounts Committee functioning, a Parliament in comatose and silence from key international stakeholders, Guyana is drifting dangerously away from democracy and accountability toward a system where wealth, political connections, and elite privilege dominate national life.
Guyana is fast becoming a plutocracy where the rich and powerful continue to enrich themselves, the connected are protected, and ordinary citizens are left burdened by poverty, failing infrastructure, and broken promises.
The Guyanese people deserve more than speeches, propaganda, and public relations stunts. They deserve genuine accountability, transparent governance, and leaders who uphold the law equally not a government where Irfaan Ali bloviates on integrity while corruption flourishes beneath the surface. President Ali is a Panderer.