World-class and back of class

Sep 01, 2026 Features / Columnists, The GHK Lall Column

(Kaieteur News) – The Aussies are now on the bandwagon. Guyana is a world class mining place. Before the Australians, Americans from Exxon were waxing brightly about Guyana’s world class oil reservoirs. And, before the Australians and Americans, there was the irrepressible Mohamed Irfaan Ali (Excellency Ali) who never saw anything that his PPP Gov’t did in Guyana that was less than world class. If I come across that word ‘world class’ one more time, throwing up would follow.

Consider something. With all of its world class gold and oil wealth, Pres. Ali still finds it necessary to lecture poor Guyanese about hanging their hats too high. Shopping in supermarkets, and eating in restaurants. In a land overflowing with wealth, and a small population, the national leader tells Guyanese to watch where they buy and take note of where they eat. Well-meaning advice, or a troubled leader? Dr. Ali is someone, who’s always talking big, swaggering, being his worst enemy. He criticised citizens for refusing to allow their impoverished condition to keep them down. But it is his PPP-inspired and PPP Gov’t policies that have far too many Guyanese chewing on their fingernails, agonising on a way out of their social, financial, and familial dilemmas. One is too little food. Another is a leader who talks too much and delivers too little. A hot-air balloon politician.