An open question to Azruddin Mohamed: Have you completed your declarations to the Integrity Commission yet? The Leader of the Opposition (LOO) has an obligation under the laws of Guyana to do so. Will the LOO tell the nation when he plans to meet this obligation? Will the Integrity Commission tell the nation if the LOO has fulfilled his obligations for 2025-2026?
Let us be clear: President Irfaan Ali has submitted his declarations to the Integrity Commission, as he is obligated to do under Guyana’s laws. We do not know whether the LOO has done so, although we are reasonably confident that he is intentionally violating the laws of Guyana to make his declarations. He is under indictment in the USA; President Irfaan Ali is not under indictment anywhere. The LOO has been indicted for evasion of taxes, although the indictment has been withdrawn for technical reasons to permit the USA to proceed with its extradition request. President Irfaan Ali has never been indicted for tax evasion. The LOO has been under suspicion for murder; President Ali has never been under suspicion for any kind of murder. President Ali has lived within the confines of the law; the LOO has lived precariously outside the law.
The President of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali, we know, has been up-to-date with his Integrity Commission’s declarations for decades now. Azruddin Mohamed has an obligation under the law to declare his assets and his wealth to the Integrity Commission as a public duty. We know he owns valuable and massive amounts of properties, land and gold mines. We just do not know how much. We are simply asking him to tell the Commission, reminding him of his obligation. If he has not submitted his Integrity Commission’s declarations, it is sheer hypocrisy to question the wealth of others.
Guyanese have become numb to the disinformation, dishonesty and hypocrisy from the owner of the political party known as WIN. Azruddin Mohamed and his family are among the richest families in Guyana. They are among the biggest property owners, including land owners in the country. None of this is legacy wealth. They did not inherit it from parents and grandparents. Far from questioning how the Mohameds acquired so much wealth, we simply want to know whether Azruddin Mohamed has declared his wealth since that is a basic requirement for senior politicians. This has become even more critical since he is under indictment from the US for corruption and he is actively trying to avoid his extradition.
When Azruddin Mohamed decided to become a politician and formed his own party, when he nominated himself to take up a seat that was won by WIN, and when he made himself available to become the LOO, certain constitutional obligations came with those privileges and honours. This includes declaring to the Integrity Commission his assets and his wealth, including bank accounts and other financial wealth. We know that he has no bank account because banks consider him a danger to their businesses. Yet he splurges and “buys” favours. We do not know the source of the money that he so freely spends.
This week, Azruddin Mohamed did a video with pictures, illegally obtained, of a modern farm owned by President Irfaan Ali. The contention is that the farm is only possible because it was obtained through corruption. There was no evidence of any corruption, other than innuendoes. Azruddin Mohamed knows that he simply has to put a story out there without any evidence and that a certain section of the population will jump on it as “God’s” truth. Yet, as a leader, he has an obligation and responsibility to show people his evidence.
Making matters worse, President Ali has confirmed that Azruddin’s father contacted him prior to the release of the video. If it is true that the elder Mohamed communicated with the President, the question is why. It is the classical “shakedown”, a blackmail scheme.
We know that President Ali has faithfully declared his assets and wealth to the Integrity Commission, and he has been doing this for years. We know that he owned the farms since before 2020 and that this information was part of the declarations. He has never made this a secret. Countless persons can tell stories of Irfaan Ali’s agriculture investments and his dreams for his farm off the Linden Highway long before he became President. Ruminations, like the Integrity Commission, knows that President Ali, as an ordinary MP, before 2020, owned the farm. When he was Minister of Tourism, he started a small juice-bottling business using his own fruits. He also had vision of creating his own spice mixes using products from his farm. While he did come from a farming family, he himself became a farmer decades ago. These are well-known facts, and those who pretend they do not know are being dishonest.
President Ali has stated categorically that he has not used state funds for the modernisation of his farm. Nothing in the Auditor General reports comes close to suggesting this happened. When Azruddin Mohamed showed a video of the farm and accused President Ali of corruption, he had a duty to present evidence for the allegations. Ordinary citizens may get away with such irresponsible behaviour. This, however, is unacceptable for the LOO. A much higher standard is expected from the LOO.
But we come right back to the original question – has the LOO submitted his assets and wealth declarations? It is sheer hypocrisy for the LOO to accuse the President of corruption, without evidence, while he is desperately fighting extradition to the US, where he is facing serious criminal charges. This is not just hypocrisy and total dishonesty; it is audacity, arrogance and disrespect and disregard for the laws of Guyana.