Dear editor,
One minute into the press conference hosted by Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed, there were already signs of why his long-awaited encounter with the media would struggle to offer the country a serious plan.
What unfolded was a circus-like performance, with Mohamed as the main attraction and General Secretary Odessa Primus frequently interjecting to keep the show going.
Guyanese had reason to expect more. The Opposition Leader and his party had promised to address the challenges facing citizens and offer solutions.
Instead, the briefing moved from accusations to anecdotes, from dramatic claims to repeated references to Mohamed’s legal troubles, with little indication that WIN has developed a coherent programme.
A substantial portion of the event was devoted to Mohamed’s account of his presence outside the home of Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, a key witness in the extradition proceedings involving him and his father.[1]
He is entitled to explain his position and defend himself. But this was advertised as a press conference on issues affecting the nation, and the balance of the proceedings exposed a troubling preoccupation.
While the Opposition Leader had an elaborate presentation for his personal circumstances, his answers on the policies that would affect hundreds of thousands of Guyanese were often thin, incomplete or missing altogether.
The press conference opened with the cost of living, an issue deserving of serious attention. Mohamed complained about food prices, foreign currency shortages and the pressures on families. Those are legitimate subjects for an Opposition Leader to raise. The difficulty came when he was pressed on what he would actually do.
He called for price controls on basic items and argued that certain businesses should reduce their profits. Yet he did not identify the products that would be covered, explain how prices would be calculated, set out how the measures would be enforced or address how he would prevent shortages if suppliers could no longer cover their costs.
When a reporter specifically asked whether price controls could affect competition and production, and requested concrete agricultural proposals, Mohamed shifted into an account of meetings between gold dealers and the former Granger administration. He returned to his claim that more than US$1 billion was not entering the banking system and said farmers needed more investment. The questions about the design and consequences of his proposed controls remained unanswered.
His assertion that bringing US$1 billion into local banks would return the exchange rate to $216.50 was delivered with great confidence. The press conference, however, offered no supporting calculation, timeframe or explanation of how the wider demand for foreign currency would be managed.
Then came perhaps the clearest indication of the party’s thinking. Asked about policy, Mohamed declared: “My policy right now is to get the people out of government so people can live a better life.”
That is an expression of political ambition. Guyanese were still left waiting to hear how WIN would make life better.
By the end of the briefing, the country had heard a great deal about the Opposition Leader’s movements, his Facebook page, his personal experiences and his grievances.
It had heard considerably less about how his party would finance its promises, manage the economy, improve public services or confront the difficult choices of government.
Ayinde Sampson
References
- The LOO was big on performance, but shallow on substance in Guyana Chronicle, October 27, 2026
- The LOO was big on performance, but shallow on substance in Guyana Times, October 27, 2026