The Political Hijacking of NAREI and other State Agencies

Aug 15, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

Having worked at a government agency entrusted with technical service delivery, I am intimately familiar with the political interference and subversion that lurk beneath the surface.

As a young professional with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, I would be dishonest if I claimed that the personal agendas and political manoeuvrings of friends and favourites of the ruling regime did not affect me — and undoubtedly many others.

To dedicate years toward becoming a qualified technocrat, only to be bypassed by what I term paratroopers from the state apparatus — unwelcomed individuals who appear from the political ether and are installed into lofty, high-salaried positions — is an affront to decency, integrity, and the meritocratic ideals instilled in us from childhood. “If you study hard, you will succeed in life,” said every teacher ever. Yet the harsh truth many young, ambitious (and admittedly naïve!) professionals like myself eventually confront is this: in Guyana today, connections often matter more than competence.

I pity many of my former colleagues — and new recruits — whose talents are stifled and whose concerns are silenced by an environment that punishes dissent and rewards compliance. I admire their endurance under such political duress, and I grieve the loss of their professional freedom.

What compels me to speak out now is the blatant, daylight hijacking of yet another technical agency, as evidenced on its own Facebook page. I refer specifically to the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).

Can the management and PR department of NAREI kindly explain why its official Facebook page intersperses technical advisories and agency publications with political propaganda? Why should an institution whose mandate is to support the nation’s crop sector serve as a mouthpiece for a specific political party and its associates?

Post after post showcases agricultural developments attributed solely to the PPP/C regime. While it is entirely appropriate to acknowledge the government of the day, must we always amplify the party brand while suffocating our national identity?

Why, for instance, did the February 13, 2025, post read: “Thanks to the PPP/C Government, students of Bygeval Multilateral School have a shade house with drip irrigation,” instead of the more appropriate, non-partisan “Thanks to the Government of Guyana…”? Will endorsement of President Ali for a second term soon become another implicit requirement of agency staff? That’s a rhetorical question, of course — considering that on July 21, 2025, NAREI’s page even reshared a partisan rally promotion from “Action News” advertising a PPP/C Grand Public Rally in Industry!

It is almost unbelievable that we now find ourselves confronting the shameless and unethical posturing of a government and its agencies, where political allegiance is celebrated and multi-partisanism is subdued. This is even more disturbing when one considers documented instances of public servants being sanctioned, transferred, or dismissed simply for associating with opposition party figures.

Whether you are a PPP/C supporter, opposition supporter or politically unenthusiastic, you must view political press from a public agency in the cold light of day: the content on NAREI’s Facebook page cannot be passed off as harmless branding; it is a window into what is transpiring within the agency. What ought to be a free-thinking, non-partisan research institution composed of skilled technicians and technocrats has been reduced to an echo chamber of political administrators and paymasters. This reflects a broader national tragedy — the incestuous, political bastardization of young, intelligent, and gifted minds. Our potential and performance suffer daily miscarriages at the hands of nepotism, corruption, and incompetence.

Quite frankly, it is absolutely reprehensible. It is an insult to our intellect and our integrity. Knowledge, science, and development are — and must remain — apolitical. Let’s keep them that way. Leaving NAREI was one of the best decisions of my life. I no longer feel drained by the parasitic, paralysis-inducing miasma of that state-orchestrated public circus — also known as “public service.”

A patriotic Guyanese and servant of the soil.

Sincerely,

Meritus Ignored

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hijacking, Meritus Ignored, NAREI, political

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