分类： politics

The 51st regular summit of the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) kicked off in St. Lucia Sunday, opening with a stark rebuke from outgoing Chairman Dr. Terrance Drew, who also serves as Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, targeted at regional leaders who skip critical decision-making gatherings.

Drew’s opening address came amid a growing regional controversy tied to his role in announcing a second five-year term for incumbent CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, set to begin in August. The announcement has drawn fierce pushback from the government of Trinidad and Tobago, whose Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has publicly pledged not to recognize Barnett’s tenure after her current term expires on July 31, 2026.

The dispute over the appointment process stretches back months: Persad-Bissessar walked out of a February CARICOM summit hosted in St. Kitts and Nevis before the vote on Barnett’s re-appointment, delegating her attendance to Foreign Minister Sean Sobers. Reports later confirmed Sobers ultimately did not travel to the summit venue on Nevis, citing safety concerns related to the required ferry crossing. More recently, Persad-Bissessar also missed a virtual CARICOM summit called to address her formal objections to the appointment process, a absence that drew quiet scrutiny ahead of the St. Lucia summit.

At Sunday’s opening ceremony, Persad-Bissessar arrived at the venue only minutes after CARICOM’s Secretary-General delivered her opening address, aligning with the pattern of partial participation that Drew called out in his speech.

“Whenever this community faces matters of great significance, let us ensure that every head of government makes every effort to be present,” Drew told assembled delegates. He went on to emphasize that CARICOM’s internal disputes should be resolved through closed, candid dialogue between member leaders, rather than through public posturing that plays out in media headlines.

“No newspaper headline has solved a disagreement among Caribbean leaders. No public commentary has ever replaced honest dialogue,” Drew said. “But respectful conversation among colleagues committed to a common purpose has repeatedly strengthened this community. Trust is strengthened, misunderstandings are resolved, consensus is built [when we meet in person].”

Despite the public rift over Barnett’s appointment, Drew struck a conciliatory note in key portions of his address. He publicly praised Barnett for her tenure, highlighting her consistent professionalism, unwavering integrity, and careful commitment to upholding the impartiality of the CARICOM Secretariat while faithfully executing leaders’ policy decisions.

“Madam Secretary General, thank you for your professionalism, your integrity, and your steadfast commitment to this community throughout my tenure,” Drew said. “Whenever I called, you answered. Whenever support was required, you and your team responded with diligence, competence, and excellence. You have served with distinction, you have understood the importance of preserving the impartiality of the Secretariat while faithfully implementing the decisions of heads of government — that balance has strengthened this community.”

Drew also reaffirmed CARICOM’s collective commitment to Trinidad and Tobago’s upcoming candidacy for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, noting that the region’s unified backing has been critical to the small island nation’s campaign. He stressed that CARICOM’s collective influence on the global stage is only possible when all member states stand together, even amid internal disagreements.

“Although Trinidad and Tobago was the candidate, it entered that election carrying the united and public support of the Caribbean community,” Drew said. “That support demonstrated that when CARICOM stands behind one of its own, our collective voice commands respect on the world stage. One could not imagine that Trinidad, a very small country when considered against the rest of the world, would be in a position to compete for a Security Council seat on its own.”

On the eve of CARICOM Day, Guyana’s main opposition-aligned Working People’s Alliance (WPA) has issued a nationwide call for peaceful public demonstrations to push back against the Irfaan Ali administration’s proposed legislation that would restore uncapped financial and service benefits to all former Guyanese presidents. The protest, scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. local time on July 6, will center on a main gathering at Church of God Road in Buxton, with organizers urging civic and community groups across all regions of the country to host parallel peaceful demonstrations in their own localities.

WPA executive member Kidackie Amsterdam made the announcement during an appearance on the *Politics 101* program hosted by Dr. David Hinds, appealing for cross-sector participation from trade unions, religious institutions, youth organizations, private sector leaders, and other civil society groups to join the demonstration. The core target of the protest is the *Former Presidents’ Facilities and Benefits Bill 2026*, which the current administration has introduced to repeal the 2015 benefits act implemented by the former APNU+AFC government that placed strict caps on all post-presidency benefits.

Amsterdam laid out the high projected cost of the proposed legislation, estimating that the three living former presidents – Samuel Hinds, Bharrat Jagdeo, and Donald Ramotar – would drain an additional 100 million to 200 million Guyanese dollars annually from public coffers, on top of the existing arrangement that grants former presidents seven-eighths of the sitting president’s 3 million-plus GY$ annual salary. He drew a sharp contrast between this proposed generous spending and the struggles of ordinary Guyanese, noting that the country’s more than 76,000 senior citizens receive just 46,000 GY$ per month in old age pension. Former President David Granger, the fourth living former head of state, currently travels to Cuba for ongoing specialized medical care under existing benefits provisions.

Joining Amsterdam on the program, former PNCR executive member Annette Ferguson threw her full support behind the protest, rejecting the proposal that the bill be sent to a bipartisan parliamentary select committee for review – a position put forward by PNCR executive and APNU parliamentarian Ganesh Mahipaul. Ferguson argued that the bill is unconscionable and imposes an unfair extra financial burden on Guyanese citizens already grappling with soaring cost of living, underfunded public healthcare, and underresourced education systems. She also recalled that a nearly identical uncapped benefits bill was pushed through by the Jagdeo administration in 2009, despite widespread public outcry from civil society and the then-opposition.

Notably, the broader A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition, which counts the WPA as a member, has not formally backed public protests against the bill. But the WPA has framed the demonstration as a non-partisan push to scrap legislation it argues would place an unnecessary drain on public finances at a time when most Guyanese are struggling to cover basic living costs.

Key provisions of the 2026 bill that have sparked outrage would eliminate nearly all restrictions on former presidents’ benefits. Under the proposed law, former presidents would be exempt from all income taxes, just like the sitting head of state. Critically, the legislation would grant unlimited benefits regardless of whether a former president engages in private business, paid employment, or even if they are convicted of a criminal offense that results in a prison sentence.

The 2015 law currently in effect – which the Ali administration is moving to repeal – puts clear limits on all public spending for former presidents. It caps combined monthly utility costs (water, electricity, telephone) at 25,000 GY$ per former president, limits medical expense reimbursement to 200,000 GY$ annually for the former president, their spouse, and minor children, and restricts reimbursement to care received at domestic public health facilities unless the required treatment is not available locally. The 2015 framework also limits personal security to no more than two full-time personnel, caps state-provided motor vehicles at two, and provides an annual vacation allowance equal to two first-class return airfares, aligned with the terms offered to Supreme Court judges.

Amsterdam emphasized that the WPA does not oppose treating former presidents with dignity and reasonable respect, but argues any benefits must be balanced against the country’s pressing economic needs and the constraints facing ordinary taxpayers. He warned that the cumulative long-term cost to the national treasury of the uncapped benefits could run into hundreds of millions of Guyanese dollars, diverting critical funds from far more urgent national priorities. Those priorities, he said, should include higher wages and benefits for teachers, nurses, police officers and other public servants, expanded public healthcare access, increased support for pensioners and people living with disabilities, expanded school feeding programs, critical infrastructure upgrades, youth employment programs, and financial support for the agriculture sector and small businesses.

“This is a question of national priorities,” Amsterdam said. “Public office is a privilege of service, not a pathway to unlimited taxpayer-funded privileges after leaving office. This demonstration is not about personalities or partisan politics – it is about protecting the public purse and demanding responsible governance.”

He criticized the government for using its parliamentary majority to advance a policy that ordinary Guyanese never asked for and cannot afford, arguing that the proposed legislation is completely out of touch with the daily economic realities facing most citizens. “Every additional dollar committed to generous post-office benefits is a dollar unavailable for urgent national priorities,” he noted.

Amsterdam closed with an appeal to all Guyanese, regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity, or religious background, to join the peaceful, lawful demonstrations across the country. “Let us demonstrate peacefully, lawfully and respectfully. Let us send a clear message that Guyana’s wealth belongs to all Guyanese and should first be used to improve the quality of life of the people,” he said.

On Sunday, July 5, 2026, a sharp public conflict erupted between Guyana’s top political rivals, as Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed leveled explosive GY$2.2 billion corruption allegations against sitting President Irfaan Ali over an agricultural property along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. Mohamed published a 24-minute exposé video on his Team Mohamed’s Facebook page, complete with on-site imagery of the property, claiming the project involves improper misuse of state resources and presidential influence.

Mohamed alleged that the 150-acre sprawling agricultural estate, which he refers to as a personal “ranch”, includes a GY$75 million public-funded access road and a GY$55 million electricity transmission line built exclusively for the property. In a pointed critique of inequity, he noted that nearby residents of St. Cuthbert’s Mission have only received four hours of grid electricity daily for decades, while Ali’s livestock – including black-bellied sheep and Brazilian cattle – enjoy 24/7 power access. According to the opposition leader’s estimates, the development also includes large ventilated poultry tunnel houses, dedicated cattle shelters, multi-level sheep enclosures, worker housing, a two-story concrete personal residence, and a recreational complex with a swimming pool, paved deck, gazebo, outdoor cooking area and event spaces, totaling a GY$165 million investment in residential and leisure infrastructure. Mohamed claimed Ali is projected to earn millions of dollars annually from the venture across poultry, cattle, sheep, goat, and fish production, and argued that the president amasses private generational wealth while pressuring business leaders to fund his lavish political fundraisers and galas.

Notably, the report adds context: Azruddin Mohamed and his father Nazar “Shell” Mohamed are already under United States sanctions and criminal charges for alleged wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering connected to their gold trading operations. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control claims the pair exported over 10,000 kilograms of gold without reporting it to Guyanese authorities, evading more than US$50 million in required tax payments to the Guyanese government. As of publication, none of Mohamed’s cost or revenue estimates for Ali’s property have been independently verified by third parties.

President Ali has issued a full, vehement rejection of all allegations, speaking to reporters from Demerara Waves Online News shortly after arriving in St. Lucia for the 51st Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit running from July 5 to 8. Ali clarified that the property is a pre-existing farm he owned long before his first election as president in 2020, and that all funding for expansions and operations comes from personal bank loans, not state resources. “There is absolutely no State involvement or no State financing for any single thing on my farm. It is in existence long before I am President and all of my assets have been declared to the Integrity Commission,” Ali stated, adding that local banking institutions can confirm all loans and asset declarations. He also rejected claims that he used presidential influence to secure the land or project benefits.

Guyana’s Integrity Commission, unlike Jamaica’s equivalent body, is not legally required to publicly disclose the asset declarations of senior political officials. Ali further framed the accusations as part of a blackmail campaign by the Mohamed family, with whom he maintained a close personal relationship dating back to his secondary school years before the U.S. imposed sanctions on the pair in June 2024. “This part of a nasty agenda of the Mohameds and now they came out this morning with complete propaganda, lies and deception,” the president said, noting the pair had attempted similar pressure tactics until recently to force him to back down from unspecified actions.

Ali also confirmed that his farm staff reported unauthorized drone flights over the private property for four consecutive days ahead of the accusations, with some reports of items being dropped from the unmanned aircraft. A formal police report has been filed over the incursion, and authorities are currently investigating the incident.